


Castanet

by popartpoptart



Category: Harvest Moon: Animal Parade, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-22
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 12:40:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5048911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popartpoptart/pseuds/popartpoptart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Angela was only 16 years old, her family made a sudden move from the island she called home to the busy, far-away city due to financial troubles. For four years she scarcely heard from her best friends Luke, Kathy, and Owen. One day, long after Angela left the island, Luke and Selena are surprised with an unplanned pregnancy. Not knowing what to do, they decide that marriage is the best option. Angela is invited to the wedding, giving her a chance to reunite with her friends, and possibly move back to the island. How will things change for the people of the island when she returns?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story was originally posted on fanfiction.net, but here I am! I'm still kind of trying to figure out how to work this, so editing this was a total pain in the ass, so I'm only posting this one chapter tonight. The other 12 will be up soon, and the 13th is in the making! Just so you know, this chapter kind of sucks, in my opinion at least. I mean, I wrote it eight months ago, and already I feel like my writing is better. Each chapter gets better and better, I promise. 
> 
> I won't always do little notes before or after a chapter, and mostly I'll just use the same notes I used before on ff.net. But please, enjoy Castanet!

Selena brushed her dark red hair out of her face and glanced at the little pink stick between her fingers. She bit her purple-painted fingernails as she looked down to see the final result of the pregnancy test. Buying the pregnancy test at the general store earned her some sympathetic looks from Barbara and Simon, making her feel more uncomfortable than she ever had been before. Slowly, a little pink plus showed up on the tiny screen.

“Luke! Babe….” Selena called from her room above the bar where she worked. Her hands were shaking, as was her voice.

“What is it?” Luke called back, totally oblivious to Selena’s nervousness and predicament.

“I think I’m pregnant.” Selena choked out, tears forming in her eyes. _No, I am strong. I can get through this without the crying_ , she thought to herself, the tears leaving as soon as they had come.

“Are you…are you sure?” Luke asked, a look of complete shock on his face.

“Yes Luke. I’m absolutely positive. By the look of your face it seems like you don’t even know how a woman gets pregnant.” she said with a slight laugh.

“So…what are you going to do with the baby?”

“What do you mean what am I going to do? I’m going to keep it!” Selena said, and the thought of actually being a mother caring for a child hit her. She hadn’t even stopped to think of how much her life would be changed before this point. What was she going to do? Should she keep the baby? Or should she get it aborted or put it up for adoption? Having a baby at age 20 may have been a normal thing to do when her parents were young, but now? And then the question of Luke came into play. Luke, oh sweet Luke. Would he be a reliable father or would he bail right away? Confusion and anxiety swirled around Selena’s head, making her sweat and shake.

“Selena? Selena? Are you okay? You look terrible!” Luke grabbed her by the shoulders just as she collapsed into his arms.

“What were we thinking Luke? Why didn’t we use protection? Or do something? I’m too young for this.”

 

* * *

 

The young couple stood hand in hand in front of Sampson and Sue, Selena’s parents, and Dale, Luke’s father. Sampson and Sue agreed to make a day trip to the island to meet their daughter at the bar. The bar was completely empty since it was noon, and Selena decided it was the best place to break the news.

“Mom, Dad, Dale, we have some big news that we thought you should know,” Selena took a deep breath and squeezed Luke’s hand. “I’m pregnant.” It took a couple of seconds for the adults to react, but to Selena, it felt like hours.

“Are you sure?” The first question came from Dale.

“Yes! I’m sure! Your son asked the same exact thing. Why does everyone ask that?”

“Well, I’m sorry. Luke, what were you thinking boy?” Dale turned to Luke, his soft expression turning hard.

“I wasn’t thinking. As always.”

“Selena, baby. Come here.” Sue said softly, standing to hug her daughter. Selena walked over and was embraced by her mother, her father joining. While Selena’s parents seemed to feel sorry for Selena and accept her, Dale lectured Luke in the corner.

“Well, would you care to tell me what you’re planning to do?!” Dale barked at Luke. Luke towered over Dale, but Dale still seemed to overpower his 6’3” son.

“Well…we were going to keep the baby…” Luke muttered.

“That’s all you’ve got? Are you gonna stick around for the poor woman? Are you going to be in the kid’s life? Are you going to step up to the plate and be around when it needs to have its diaper changed or needs to be fed? I don’t trust you Luke. You’re immature. You are too young to be a father!”

_A father,_

Luke thought.

_I’m going to be a father._

Dale, Sue, and Sampson all sat back down with Selena and Luke in front of them once again. After a lot of debating and suggestions, one conclusion became favored by their parents.

“Marriage. You need to get married.” Dale said while staring down his blue-haired son. Sue and Sampson nodded in agreement. Selena gripped onto Luke’s arm, uncomfortable with what her parents wanted, but she knew in her mind that it might be the best option for them. This was a small island that was greatly inhabited by older folks with traditional thoughts. A baby out of wedlock was not good for her image. There needed to be a wedding before the baby was born, and maybe having married parents would also be better for her future son or daughter.

 

* * *

 

“Hello? Excuse me? Anybody here?” Selena called out as she leaned across the counter at town hall. Luke stood right behind her checking out all of the dusty books on the bookshelf.

“I wonder if Gill still keeps a diary like he did when he was a kid. Haha, that stuff was gold. We used to steal it out of his cubby in school and read as much as we could before he noticed. Did you know he used to wet the bed until third grade? Poor guy!” Luke laughed to himself, but Selena was unamused. Her pregnancy was already starting to affect her mood and she was extremely impatient.

“HELLO? SERVICE PLEASE!” She yelled as she banged on the little bell on the desk.

“Selena! Calm down! Do you want to hear more about little Gilly’s diary? Haha!”

“SHUT UP LUKE! God, you can be so annoying. I don’t want to hear about Gill’s diary!”

“My…diary?” Gill had walked in just as Selena mentioned his diary, which, unknown to her, he still wrote in daily.

“Oh…sorry Gill. Never mind. Anyway, Luke and I are…engaged, and we would like to book the church in two weeks for a wedding. We don’t want to waste any time.” Gill had a look of complete shock as he took out some papers and books and proceeded to schedule their wedding for August 18th.

“Thank you Gill.” Selena said, giving Gill the sweetest smile she could muster.

“Sure thing…I’ll give Perry a call and call you when he confirms. I’m sure he won’t deny the request since there’s nothing going on that I can think of at that time.”

“See ya later Gilligan!” Luke smiled brightly and waved as he walked out of the door, Selena following. After a quick scowl, Gill grabbed Selena’s arm and pulled her back to the counter.

“Selena, I know we aren’t that close, but I know Luke. Are you in any trouble? Do you need help?” He stared at Selena with a sympathetic face, like he knew something was up.

“Gill, if you must know, I love Luke and we are getting married because we LOVE each other. Please don’t ask that again.” Selena ripped her arm out of Gill’s loose grip and walked out of the town hall with her hips swaying side to side.

 

* * *

 

Luke looked down at the envelope in his hand. It was baby blue and it contained the invitation to his wedding. The wedding was exactly in two weeks, and he expected that this particular letter would take at least one week to reach its destination. He used to send letters to this address all of the time, excitedly awaiting the response. It had been four years since he had seen her shining face, and almost three years since he had spoken to her, but he knew that he needed to see her at least one more time before embarking on one of the biggest adventures of his life. He licked the envelope shut and wrote the address on the back.

Angela Harvie

15689 4th street

New York, NY, 10019


	2. The Invitation

“I’m home!” Angela called as she shut the heavy door to her small apartment that she shared with her parents. Her dad was a farmer and her mom a scientist, and they lived on the quaint island of Castanet until Angela was 16 years old. The soil became rough and barren, and the weather was always bad for her parents’ work. They weren’t well off economically and they were only losing money every day, so her parents had no choice but to move her out to the city where they could hopefully make a better life. They had been there for four years while her dad worked at a food processing factory making just enough money to support the family. Her mom had been away in Alaska for months doing scientific research for a biology organization. Money had always been an issue, but the small family got by with what they had.  

“How was work Angela?” her dad replied. He was a kind man trying to do what was best for his daughter, but he didn’t always see eye to eye with her.

“It was boring, as usual. And of course there’s the fact that I’m grossly underpaid for all those customers I have to deal with. I can’t wait to move up.” Angela flipped through her mail, tucking her short brown hair behind her ear. Bills, bills, bills, then a baby blue envelope caught her attention. The handwriting, messy with all of the letters connected, caught her attention. It looked so familiar but she couldn’t think of why. Carrying the letter to her room and sitting on her tiny bed that was shoved against the wall, she began to rip it open.

Dear Angela,

Hey! It’s Luke! If you even remember me. How is life in the big city? I always wonder what next adventure you and your family are going on. Last I heard from you, you had just gotten grounded from punching that mean chick in the face from school. What was her name again? I really miss you, which might sound weird since we haven’t talked in like, three years? Anyway, I should probably get to the point. I’m actually engaged and the wedding is August 18th. My soon-to-be wife moved here after you left, so I doubt you know her, but she’s amazing and I’m sure you would love her! You should definitely come, because you were one of my closest friends, and I’d like to see you again. I know you may not have a place to stay, so feel free to stay at my place until you’re ready to head back! See you soon!

Love, Luke

At first, Angela was thrilled to hear from Luke. She missed that crazy goofball. When she read that he was engaged, however, her heart dropped just a little bit. It was ridiculous for her to feel that way, so she quickly shoved all of those uncomfortable feelings deep down and forced herself to only feel happy for her old best friend.

* * *

 

Angela couldn’t sleep at all the night before she planned to depart, yet she still was full of energy when she saw the small boat pull up to the dock. There were only a few people on the boat as Angela boarded. At first, she just planned to take a trip for a couple of days to catch up with the islanders and see Luke’s wedding, but she decided that maybe she would stay for a while longer. She had just turned twenty and she wanted to live on her own for once. Living with her family for that long was enough, and maybe she could make a life for herself on the island once again. Hamilton might possibly be kind enough to let her buy her childhood home back. Of course her father knew that she was heading to the island for the wedding, but he was expecting her to be back within the week. He didn’t know that she had made a split-second decision to move there.

I’m sure I can make a living by being a farmer. I grew up around crops and animals, I know what I’m doing, Angela kept telling herself as she fell asleep to the rocking rhythm of the boat.

* * *

 

“Wake up Angela. We’re at our destination,” Pascal softly shook Angela awake.

“Thanks Pascal. It really is good to see you again.” Angela smiled as she looked around and soaked in the island that was so familiar to her. She hopped off the boat and waved goodbye to the kind captain and headed towards the carpenters’ home, where she would be staying until she could get back on her feet.

****  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Reuniting

_Knock, knock, knock_

Angela stood in front of the green door to the carpenter’s. She would have just walked in since it was a business as well as a home, but it was past closing hours. Dale opened the door a minute later, startled to see Angela’s beaming face on the other side.

“Angela? What are you doing here? It’s been years!”

“Oh…Luke must not have told you that he invited me to his wedding. He told me I could stay here for the night…I’m sorry if that’s a problem.” Angela looked down at her feet, embarrassed that she might be intruding. Instead of being turned down, Dale scooped her skinny body into his arms for a hug, laughing loudly.

“Stay here as long as you need! We’ve missed you Angie.” No one had called her Angie since she was a young girl, but the nickname felt comforting. A warm wave of joy washed over her as she realized she truly was back home. She was where she belonged.

“Luke is down in the mines with Owen and Calvin. He won’t be back until late. You can sleep in his room tonight. I’ll tell him to sleep on the couch when he gets back.” Angela’s heart sped up at the thought of seeing Owen and Luke again, but she was a little confused as to who Calvin was. Whoever he was, he must’ve moved to the island after she left.

“No! I don’t want to be any trouble. I can sleep on the couch.”

“Get your skinny ass up into his room Angela. I want you to be comfortable!” Dale said with a hearty laugh and a warm smile. Angela couldn’t say no to that.

She trudged up the wooden stairs to the narrow hallway where Luke’s room was. She looked at all of the familiar pictures on the walls and noticed there was one of her! It was a picture taken the day she left, and she, Luke, and Bo were on the dock with their arms wrapped around each other. They all smiled brightly, even though she had felt empty and broken.

Angela took her focus away from the photograph and turned into Luke’s room. She had been in this room so many times during her childhood, and even spent time in it the day she had left. This was the room where she had her first kiss.

She dumped her duffel bag on the floor next to Luke’s bed. It was covered in multicolored quilts and the room itself was quite rustic. Angela finally crashed after her long journey here and excitedly climbed under the covers. As soon as she rested her head on the pillow and breathed in the comforting scent of sawdust and soap, the signature smell of Luke, she fell fast asleep.

* * *

 

“Bye Sel. I love you,” Luke said as he wrapped his arms around his secretly pregnant fiancée and pressed his lips to hers.

“I’ll see you tomorrow dummy,” Selena replied as she closed the bar and began cleaning tables alongside her best friend and coworker Kathy.

Luke left and began to trudge home from the Brass Bar. Owen and Calvin had left hours before because they were tired from the mines. “Wimps,”  Luke said to himself, chuckling. He quietly opened the green door to his home, being extra careful not to wake up his father or Bo. It was two in the morning, so surely everyone would be asleep. He tiptoed up the creaky wooden stairs to his room and slowly opened the door. He walked inside and began to change out of his dirty work clothes.

“Ah…who’s there?” Angela slurred, half-asleep. Luke clapped a hand on his mouth, preventing the scream in his throat from escaping, and whipped his head around with wide eyes. Finally, he noticed the tiny shape of Angela curled up under the quilt on his mattress, completely asleep once again. He let out a little sigh, relieved there wasn’t an intruder, and filled with excitement at seeing his best friend again. Too bad she’s asleep when I see her for the first time in four years. I’d better let her rest, Luke thought to himself.

Walking once again down the creaky wooden stairs clad in a white t-shirt and plaid boxer shorts, Luke descended to his final destination of the night: the couch. He fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming of the morning when he would reunite with Angela.

* * *

 

The smell of eggs and bacon drifted towards the couch where Luke slept, waking him up as soon as the scent reached his nose.

“Dale, you cook the best breakfast. I can’t believe I could survive without it for so long!” Angela said to the kind carpenter before stuffing another piece of greasy bacon in her mouth.

Luke jumped up at the speed of light, surprising Angela who was in the next room. They locked eyes and didn’t say a word for a second, then Angela came barreling towards Luke screaming with joy.

“LUKE! I missed you so much. It was terrible. I missed you, I missed this house, I missed this island…” Angela said as she jumped onto the 6’3” man, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Luke couldn’t stop laughing, barely believing that Angela was really here. He put his giant hand on the back of her head and tousled her short choppy hair.

“I’ve missed you too Angie. It’s been way too long. Why did we even stop keeping in touch?” It was meant as a rhetorical question, but Angela pulled away and stared into his golden eyes, wondering why they really did stop keeping in touch.

“Kids. Get over here and eat your breakfast.” Dale called to the “kids” with his deep, booming voice. Angela and Luke finally broke their long-awaited embrace and sat at the table in the rustic kitchen.

“Luke, stop stealing my comics, I know you stole my Spider-man one.” Bo, the blonde teenager, complained as he entered the kitchen. He looked up slightly to notice that a certain brunette was sitting at the end of the table.

“Angela! Oh my god…when did you get here?” Bo exclaimed, suddenly embarrassed that he was only in his underwear. He ran back to his room and threw on some sweatpants and a shirt, returning to the breakfast table.

“Glad to see you put on some clothes Bo. No one wants to see that,” Luke retorted, (right usage? idk) only to notice that he didn’t have any pants on either. “Uh, excuse me.” Luke exited the kitchen and ran up to his room to throw on some pants as well, all while Angela was having a laughing fit.

After breakfast, Angela was ready to get moving and meet all of the islanders for the first time in years, as well as meet the islanders who moved here after she had left. She slipped on a  pair of jean shorts and a tight grey tank top, all ready to go.

“So, I think we should swing by to see Selena and Kathy first. I really want you to meet Sel. Our wedding is in two days Angela. I’m pretty much freaking out,” Luke said with a nervous laugh as they headed out of the carpenter’s and walked towards town.

“I would be freaking out too if I were you! I mean, holy crap!”

“Angie! You’re supposed to be comforting me!” he said as he playfully punched her arm, knocking her to the side.

“Woah. When did you get so damn strong? And so tall too? I’ve been away for four years but you’ve grown so much,” Angela said with a genuine look of wonder.

“I was 16 when you left Angela. I was bound to grow. You haven’t changed at all though!” Luke said with a slight laugh. Angela still did look very girlish, and not at all like a 20 year old woman. She hated looking like a skinny teenager, but she came from a home with a lack of money and she often went without a meal. She had stopped growing when she was in middle school and stood at a good height of 5’6”, but her weight didn’t match her height at all. With her skinny legs and slight hips, Angela marched on to the Brass Bar, where Selena and Kathy waited.


	4. Starting New

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kathy screeched at a volume so loud that it could break glass. She rushed over to Angela as soon as she saw her walk into the bar and hugged her tightly. "Angie! I can't believe you're here! It's only been EONS!"

"I know, I know, but can you please let go…I need air." Kathy loosened her strong embrace on her old friend and gripped her shoulders, staring deeply into her smiling eyes.

"Why didn't you visit sooner? I've been dying without you here. Literally."

"Of course you haven't been dying weirdo. It's good to see you Kathy." Angela went in for another hug, getting emotional. Aside from Luke, Kathy had also been one of Angela's best friends. They would have sleepovers all the time and talk about everything. Kathy knew some of Angela's biggest secrets and Angela knew some of hers. They would stay up until three in the morning talking about who kissed who, who they lost their virginity to (if anyone), what was the latest in Gill's diary that Luke had discovered, etc. Angela missed these nights with the spunky blonde waitress.

As if reading her mind, Kathy blurted, "Let's have a sleepover tonight. What'dya say?"

"Of course! I'd love that Kathy!"

"Ahem," Selena said from behind Kathy, curious as to who this strange girl was.

Luke interrupted, "OH! Let me introduce you guys! Selena, this is Angela! She used to be a great friend of mine before she left the island when she was 16. I'm sure I've told you about her. And Angela, this is my beautiful, totally awesome, amazingly sexy fiancée!" Selena rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling.

"Hi Angela, it's nice to meet you." Selena said as she extended a hand to the soon-to-be farmer. Angela was immediately intimidated by the gorgeous dancer. Her bronze skin was radiant and her full hips were magnificent. Tribal tattoos covered her left arm from her shoulder to her elbow. She was curvy and toned. Selena seemed like a very feminine woman who could still beat you up if she had to. She was all that Angela wanted to be.

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Angela said with a smile as she clasped her hand and shook it. She was both in awe of this island girl and terrified of her.

An hour later, after catching up some and having a drink, Angela decided to head to the town hall and talk to the mayor about buying back her old farm. The gang had decided to meet up again at the bar later that night to continue catching up, and Angela planned on staying with Kathy that night.

Finally arriving at the town hall, which was a very short distance from the bar, she walked in, the tiny bell jingling as she entered.

"I'll be right there!" shouted a small voice from the other room. Hamilton came running in and stopped in his tracks when he saw who was there.

"Angela? Have you really returned?" Hamilton asked with his mouth hanging open.

"Yes, I really have returned to Castanet," she replied with a giggle. "And I'd like to buy back my old farm!" At this, Hamilton's mouth dropped more, if that was even possible.

"Oh, um, of course! Excuse me, let me just….get some paper work…ah yes, here it is." Hamilton pulled himself together and retrieved the proper forms for the young girl to sign. The process was quite simple, as were most things on the island. Angela signed all necessary paperwork and took out all the money she had, which would be just enough to cover the costs. Although she had sufficient money for the house now, she didn't even dare to think of what bills she'd have to pay in the future.

"Oh Angela, I can cut the cost of the house. I'll make a special exception for you, especially since this was your childhood home."

"No Hamilton, it's fine. I have the money."

"I insist, Angela." Hamilton took a black pen, crossed out the price, and split it in half. He gave Angela a warm, reassuring smile, to which Angela smiled gratefully back. It was a little embarrassing, however, that everyone seemed to know of her financial troubles.

* * *

"You did NOT!" Kathy yelled across the table. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the small girl.

"I did! Inter-city schools are rough man. That dude had it coming," Angela replied.

"You are so bad-ass Angie! I can't believe you knocked him out in front of the whole school! Just because he called you a dirty whore." Luke said, filled with admiration.

"JUST because he called me a dirty whore!? It was so sexist and terrible! I wasn't going to let him get away with that. I'm still surprised though that it only took one punch to the face and a kick in the gut to knock him down." She held up her skinny arm up for everyone to see and sighed, causing the whole table to burst into laughter.

"I know I just met you, but I think I love you," Calvin said to the brunette, causing the table of people to laugh even more. Calvin looked like a mix between Crocodile Dundee and Indiana Jones, and Angela was surprised when he first talked that he didn't have some sort of Australian accent.

Angela felt wonderful. Being with her friends again, as well as new friends, made her feel electric. Of course, the alcohol might've had a hand in her good mood, but that wasn't the point. Everyone in the group was at least a little buzzed.

"I just had the best idea! Let's all go swimming! It's not going to be summer forever." Kathy blurted. Everyone looked ecstatic and ready to go, except for Selena. As everyone was shuffling out, Selena caught Luke's arm.

"Luke, I feel really sick. I think I'm gonna have to stay here, but Angela seems lovely. Why didn't you tell me you invited her though? And who exactly is she?"

"I'm sorry babe," Luke said as he put one hand behind her head and another on her stomach. There was no bump yet, but the baby surely was there, growing steadily. "She grew up on this island with me and we were really good…friends. Yeah, friends. She's really excited to be here and I think she likes you!" Selena wasn't buying it. Something was up with that girl. Something having to do with Luke. Why had he never really mentioned her before, and why did he invite her to the wedding without letting her know? She had so many questions, but now wasn't the time to get answers. She was exhausted and sick.

"Okay, whatever. Just go have fun with all your friends. I'm closing up shop," Selena sighed. Luke kissed her forehead and ran out the door, catching up with the gang.

Angela, Kathy, Luke, Calvin, and Owen arrived shortly to the little beach near the house that Angela had just bought. Kathy started stripping right away and dove into the water, completely naked.

"Come on guys! I don't want to be the only one swimming!" Nobody else had really thought about what clothes they might swim in, and not all of them were as willing to skinny dip as Kathy had been.

"What the hell!" Angela cried as she began to take off her clothes piece by piece.

"This is so bad-ass!" Luke shouted next to Angela, beginning to undress as well. Angela looked to Luke, and Luke looked to Angela. This wasn't the first time they had seen each other naked. They smiled and dove into the water, joining Kathy, all three of them looking to the shore where Calvin and Owen stood, looking uncomfortable.

"COME ON OWEN! Let's see that handsome body of yours!" Kathy shouted, cracking herself up.

"…Alright fine." Owen said hesitantly, undressing very quickly. Good thing it's dark, he thought, so they can't see how ridiculously red my face is. Owen started wading out to the trio as Angela and Kathy whistled at him, making comments about his perfectly sculpted ass. Calvin began to throw off his clothing as soon as Owen had made his decision and ran towards the rest of the gang, his hat still on his head.

"Kathy. Stop swimming so close to me," Owen said nervously, on more than one occasion, as the flirty girl would continue to sneak up on the red-head time and time again.

"You're hilarious Owen," Kathy replied, winking and tilting back to float on her back, her round breasts completely exposed in the moonlight. Wow, Kathy's filled in nicely since I last saw her, Angela thought to herself, giggling.

"Why're you laughing? Think about something funny?" Luke asked, elbowing the girl in the arm.

"Oh nothing. Just thinking about how nice Kathy's tits are." Angela winked at her, causing Kathy to stretch up into the air, posing.

"Thanks girl. You can cop a feel anytime you want." Kathy and Angela had always been such excellent friends that they could flirt with each other shamelessly. Angela actually did have a crush on the girl when she was 14, but soon knew that no one would ever act on it.

Calvin hadn't been talking much, but had just been peacefully wading around, laughing at the conversations that the friends had been having. Angela reached over and snatched his cowboy hat off of his head and plopped it onto her own.

"I think I look a lot better in this than you do. Don't you think guys?"

"Oh totally. You're smokin' in that thing," Luke replied, laughing his ass off.

"Hmmmmm….I don't know…" Calvin replied jokingly.

"What do you mean, 'I don't know'? Of course I look better than you," Angela said with a smirk. Calvin reached over and attempted to take back his hat, but not before Angela swam away.

"Come back here you weirdo!" Calvin swam after her, finally grabbing it back and setting it on his head. Angela wasn't sure, due to how dark it was outside, but she thought she saw him wink at her.

* * *

"Bye guys! See you later. And Angie, I'll see you back at my place in a few," Kathy said to Luke and Angela, the only two left on the beach, as she headed back to the bar.

"See you in a minute, love!" Angela called back. "That was really fun Luke. I can't believe I'm finally back home." Luke stared into her eyes smiling, as he also couldn't believe she was back. Luke had put back on his boxers and white t-shirt, but didn't bother with the bandana, shoes, or jeans, as they would have been uncomfortable on his wet skin and hair. Angela did the same thing, only putting on her underwear and tank top.

"Angela, why did we actually stop keeping in touch?"

"I…don't actually know. Maybe it was because I felt bad about not replying in a while so I just kept putting it off? Or maybe it was because I felt guilty that I had another boyfriend."

"You dated another guy?"

"Well, yeah. I was away for four years. Don't act surprised! You got freaking engaged!"

"Yeah…I did, didn't I? Haha…"

"You look so nervous, you'll be fine Luke. It's going to be your special day, so enjoy it!"

"Yeah?" Luke looked into Angela's deep brown eyes, feeling comforted just by looking into them.

"Yes." Angela stared back into Luke's golden eyes, feeling the same effect. Suddenly, to Angela's surprise, Luke scooped her face into his hands, leaning in and pressing his warm lips to hers. At first she didn't respond, but then began to kiss him back. It became more passionate, their tongues dancing around each other. It felt better than it ever had, but Angela knew this wasn't right. Even if she and Luke were a little intoxicated, she knew better, and he should too. She stopped the kiss and pushed her hands against his chest before he got any more ideas.

"Luke…we can't do this. Your wedding is in two days. You're about to marry the girl of your dreams, and that's not me. We aren't dating anymore." Angela was sad to stop such a passion-filled kiss, but this was cheating, and she didn't want to do that to poor Selena.

"I'm sorry Angie…I don't know, I was so caught up in the moment. It won't happen again, I promise." Luke really did look apologetic, and he did know that what he did was wrong.

"I won't tell Selena. But if this happens again, I don't think I can keep it a secret. Bye Luke, I'll see you tomorrow," She said softly as she stood up and left. Luke sat on the beach looking out at the beautiful sea, filled with stress at his situation. He loved Selena, but he was just marrying her because of the baby. If there was no baby, would he still marry her someday? He guessed he would never know the answer to that question, and thinking about his future, he accidentally fell asleep on the cool summer sand.

 


	5. Marriage and Alcohol

"Kathy, I know you love to gossip, but I need you to keep this secret okay? If you ever tell anyone, I swear, I will strangle you." Angela laid under the covers of Kathy's bed, Kathy laying next to her. Selena was two rooms over in a deep sleep, unable to hear what Angela was about to tell her friend.

"You can tell me anything. I've never told your secrets Angie. You know that."

"Well, what about when you told Gill that I hated him in 7th grade?"

"That was forever ago!"

"What about that time when you told my MOM that I smoked pot with Luke and Owen?"

"…That was hilarious though."

"Not for me! And you know what else wasn't hilarious for me?! When she wouldn't let me hang out with you guys for a week because of it!" The two girls cracked up laughing at the memories. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this secret after all!" Angela said with a smile.

"NO! Come on, just tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone this time."

"Okay, okay. Luke kissed me. After you guys left the beach and it was just us. We were talking and he just…kissed me." There was nothing but silence for the next few seconds, until Kathy responded softly.

"…Really? Did you kiss him back?"

"I did…" Angela looked ashamed. "I stopped kissing him after a few seconds and told him that this couldn't happen. He looked so guilty! I felt bad for him, but that was really wrong. I also told him that if he did something like that again, I would tell Selena."

"So, you're not going to tell her this time?"

"No. I barely know the girl, and it's less than two days to her wedding. I'm not going to stress her out beforehand."

"Yeah, I guess I would do the same. I can't believe he'd do that though. I thought he was totally over you! I mean, yeah, you were really special to him. You were his best friend. Not to mention his first real girlfriend, his first kiss, and the one to take his virginity! But that was four years ago."

"We were a little drunk when the kiss happened. Hahaha…I kinda still am. Man, I need some sleep."

"You're still tipsy? Really? Weak. Goodnight weakling."

"Goodnight Kathy."

* * *

The next morning, the day before the wedding, Angela woke up in an empty bed. Kathy had already gotten up and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. She slowly got up from the bed, slipped on some sweat pants, and headed towards the bathroom. Opening the door, she stepped inside. In the bathtub, covered in bubbles, sat Selena.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry!" Angela said as she was about to leave, until she noticed what was in Selena's hand. While taking a bubble bath, Selena was reading a pregnancy book. Angela and Selena stared at each other for a split second until Angela slammed the door shut and ran back to her room. She sat on the bed processing what she had just seen.  _A pregnancy book. A pregnancy book! Oh my god Selena is pregnant. Does Kathy know? Does LUKE?_ Angela thought to herself, her mind racing.

"…Hello?" the door creaked open and Selena, covered in a towel with wet hair dangling on her chest, entered the room.

"Um, yeah. Hi Selena!" Angela said nervously. What would she say? Should she pretend she didn't see it? No, that would seem like she was lying, because she obviously saw it!

"So, I'm guessing you saw that."

"Yep…"

The two girls sat on the bed, surrounded by an awkward silence. Angela turned to face Selena.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise. Not even Luke." Selena looked surprised, then realized that she thought that Luke didn't know yet.

"Oh, Luke knows. Actually, besides our parents, we're the only ones that do know. And now you, of course. Also, Simon and Barbara might know too since I bought the pregnancy test from them."

"Kathy doesn't know then?"

"Nope. We're super close friends, but I'm not ready to tell her yet. I didn't expect you to find out until much later. I didn't even know you were moving here, or coming to my wedding at all, actually."

"Luke didn't tell you?"

"No. He's never told me about you at all, actually."

"…Oh." Angela felt uncomfortable. That meant that Selena didn't know anything about her past with Luke. She guessed it was better that way for now.

"Well, I'm going to go get ready. Please don't tell anyone. I know you said you wouldn't, but this is really important."

"Of course I won't tell anyone." Angela tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it looked completely forced. Selena stood and walked out of the room, looking and feeling exhausted.

* * *

"Kathy! Hold still! I can't zip up your dress if you won't stop moving!" yelled Luna, the small tailor with bouncy pink pigtails. She looked innocent, but had quite the attitude.

"Sorry Luna, I'm just so excited!" Kathy bounced up and down, causing Luna to roll her eyes dramatically.

"Do you need me to hold her down for you Luna? Or beat her unconscious?" Selena laughed.

"Shut up Selena! I could totally take you," Kathy retorted.

"You wanna go? Huh, bitch?"

"Swing first!" The two girls burst into laughter.

"Alright, Kathy. You're all ready! Does this look okay Selena?" Kathy was dressed in her maid of honor dress. It was strapless, had a sweet-heart neckline, and was a deep purple color. It was made with chiffon, and it flowed to just above Kathy's knees.

"…Wow. Kathy, you look amazing." Selena was in awe.

"Not as amazing as you're going to look!"

"Speaking of what you're going to wear Selena, want to try on your wedding dress? Candace and I did the best we could in what short amount of time we had, so hopefully it's to your liking." Luna helped Selena into her dress and attached the veil and handed her the bouquet of flowers that she would be holding. Upon seeing her reflection, Selena gasped. All three girls fell completely silent. Selena never knew she could be so beautiful. Kathy was the first to break the silence.

"Wow Sel…you look stunning."

And she still looked stunning the very next evening when she was getting ready to walk down the aisle. Her white strapless gown with gold embroidery at the bottom made her feel like a goddess. She walked down the aisle as the music played. She had always dreamed of an untraditional wedding on a beach where everyone was barefoot, but with such little time, and under her certain circumstance, this would have to suffice. This was also the first time that Selena truly felt she was making the right decision. She loved Luke, but she didn't realize this relationship would lead to marriage. The baby changed that. But now, walking towards the love of her life, who finally took off that dirty bandana, she felt complete bliss and confidence.

Luke reached out his hand and Selena grasped it, pulling her to face him. She had worn waterproof mascara just in case she might cry, but she highly doubted that she would come to that. Being pregnant really was an emotional roller-coaster though, so she came prepared.

Kathy stood behind her in her pretty purple dress that was very flattering to her body. Before Selena had come in, Kathy had walked arm in arm with Owen, Luke's best man. They each chose to only have one bridesmaid and groomsman each, so naturally they picked their best friends.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Selena and Luke," Perry projected to the crowd. "Marriage truly is a sacred thing. When two people who are madly in love know that they are destined to only be together, they choose to marry. This young couple has realized that they are only meant for each other, and have decided to hold this ceremony today. They have each prepared vows for one another."

Luke pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket which held the vows he had written. He had practiced his vows so much that he made eye contact with Selena during them without looking at the paper. When he was done, Selena gave her vows, which she had memorized as well, not needing to even carry a piece of paper with her. Staring into each others' eyes and listening to Perry's final words, "You may now kiss the bride," Selena reached up and placed her hands on either side of Luke's face and pulled him in for one of the best kisses in her life. Although it lacked intense passion, it held importance. It was their first kiss as a married couple, and Selena had never felt more in love. She tried not to cry during the ceremony, but failed. Small tears rolled down her blushing cheeks. The newly married couple pulled apart, each holding a huge smile on their faces, ready for whatever life had to throw at them.

* * *

The reception was held that night in the bar, where decorations were set up and the atmosphere was warm and congratulatory. Everyone sat at the tables and were in various conversations, all of them buzzing with excitement at the first wedding on the island in a while. Owen and Kathy both had given their speeches, each carried out wonderfully. They talked of childhood adventures with Luke, and told tales of Selena's first days on the island, trying to make it as a dancer. They spoke of their blossoming relationship and how happy they made each other. Even though they did fight often, they were perfect together. This was evident as the couple sat close together, arms wrapped around each other, smiling and laughing the entire night.

Laughter echoed all around the room, and almost everyone had a drink in their hand, except for Selena, of course. No one seemed to notice that she was missing her favorite vodka with sparkling cranberry juice.

Everyone took their turns in hugging and congratulating Selena and Luke, and even Angela hugged them both. Selena was a little surprised at the hug, but Angela was just so happy for them.

Eventually, most townspeople left, and the only ones left were Selena, Luke, Angela, Kathy, Owen, and Calvin. They sat close together at the table, talking and drinking late into the night.

"So, you guys. What are you going to do for your honeymoon? Other than, you know…" Kathy gave Selena and Luke a devilish grin.

'Well, we were going to go to Toucan Island, but then realized that Selena's parents might constantly bug us, so we thought otherwise."

"Hey! My parents would not constantly bug us! Only you thought that might happen!"

"You would be okay with your parents being there on our honeymoon?"

"Well…maybe not. You win this time, dick head."

"Is that anyway to talk to your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Don't say that! That's so weird."

"You seriously don't want Luke saying that he's your husband? Where do you think we are? Definitely not your wedding reception," Kathy said sassily.

"It doesn't even feel like a wedding reception. It's just us in the bar, where we always hang out. The only difference is that we're all dressed up," Owen added.

"I do feel very spiffy right now!" Angela said, slurring her words. She had drank a fairly large amount of cocktails that night, more than the others. "Selena looks so so so pretty. Selena, you look so pretty."

"Angela, I think it's time you get to bed," Selena responded with a laugh.

"I'll bring her home. It's getting late and I was just thinking of heading home myself. Congrats you two! It was a great wedding." Calvin said. Selena trusted Calvin to bring Angela home, as he was a kind, gentle man. She knew that he wouldn't take advantage of Angela in her vulnerable state.

"I'm going home? Why? I'm having so much fun!" Angela protested.

"You look like you're about to pass out, honey." Kathy brushed a stray hair from the drunk girl's face and kissed her forehead.

"Okay Kathy. Bye guys! I love you all! And congrats Selena and Luke!" And with a dramatic wave, Angela slumped off with Calvin, his hand on the small of her back, propping her up and guiding her home.

Calvin and Angela were headed out of Harmonica town, very slowly due to Angela's situation, and towards their homes. Calvin had a little house built for him in the mining district, as he had lived in the Inn for long enough.

"Calvin, did I ever tell you about the time I fell off of a roof?"

"No, you didn't," The explorer said with a chuckle. "Tell me all about it."

"I was probably…12. No! I was 13. Actually, maybe I was 14. Anyway, I was at the blacksmith's with Owen and Luke. No! I was definitely 13."

"Okay. You were 13. Tell me the actual story now!"

"Shut up!" Angela said throwing her best playful punch at the man in the Indiana Jones hat. "AS I WAS SAYING. I was at the blacksmith's with Owen and Luke, and Owen was showing us how he could climb out of his window and onto his roof. So we brought out tons of blankets and pillows and laid there all night watching the stars. We fell asleep, and then…well, I can't actually remember. I just remember I was laying on my back on the ground, looking up, and seeing Luke and Owen's worried faces. They were screaming for Ramsey! Ramsey ran out and picked me up and asked me if I was okay. My response was, 'I'm hungry'. I actually said that. I didn't say 'Call my dad', or 'Get me an ice pack'. I said, 'I'm hungry'."

"Wow. Amazing story Angela."

"Shut up!" Angela yelled once again, taking another shot at Calvin, her weak fist not even making contact with his arm. "I'm so tired."

"Well, we're at your house, so you can finally go to bed." Calvin led her inside after opening the unlocked door and laid her on her bed.

"Thanks Calvin, for bringing me home. Wait, don't go. I think I'm gonna puke."

"Oh shit." And with those last lovely words of the night, Calvin rushed Angela to her tiny bathroom and kneeled behind her, holding back her hair, while she puked out the entire contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.

 


	6. Typhoons and Honeymoons

"Ugh. My parents are so annoying. I mean, I know they love me and all, and they're super excited that I just got married, but its our honeymoon. I want some alone time with my husband. That still sounds so weird. My husband," Selena said, her back against the door to the little hut they would be staying in. She put her hand to her mouth and smiled at the word "husband". Saying that would take some getting used to.

"I told you that they would annoy us!" Luke walked over to her and took her hand in his.

"Yeah, yeah. You were right. For once. We didn't have a lot of other choices for a honeymoon destination. It's not like we're super rich, you know." She looked up at Luke, who was staring into her amethyst eyes, flecked with mascara.

"I will make it my goal to make our family super rich." He laughed as he leaned down and kissed her. She pulled away for a brief moment.

"It better happen." And with that, she put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him back down to meet her lips. She stopped leaning on the wall and walked back with him to the bed in the tropically decorated room. He sat down suddenly when the bed hit the back of his legs, Selena standing above him. Selena smiled and took off her purple crop top while Luke took off his own white t-shirt. She lowered herself down on the bed next to him and he undid her bra with ease. She leaned on to him and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered playfully back as he grasped the waistband of her puffy purple harem pants and pulled them down over her butt. He threw the pants, along with her panties on the floor as she began working on the button and zipper of his jeans.

Selena situated herself in Luke's lap, and they enjoyed their first night alone as a married couple.

* * *

"Luke and Selena are probably going to be back in two days, so we can finally see them then! I bet they'll be glowing." Kathy, Angela, and Calvin were all making a day of planting the first seeds on Angela's new farm. It was a small plot of land, but it would do for her first months as a farmer. It was time that she got started, as she was quickly losing all of her money.

"Glowing from all the sex they're probably having," Calvin retorted.

"Probably!" the quirky blonde said back. Angela looked uncomfortable, because the topic of Selena and Luke brought up two secrets that she was holding; the kiss from Luke and Selena's pregnancy. Eventually Selena would start to show, but when would that be? How long had she been pregnant anyway? She still wore crop tops and her stomach still looked totally toned.

"Angela, do you want the tomato seeds over here?" Calvin asked.

"Oh, yeah that's fine! Thanks for helping you guys. I appreciate it."

"No problem!" Calvin replied. "Let's go to my place after we're done! I can make us some drinks and cook a little dinner. It is getting kind of late."

"Nice! Thanks dude." Angela smiled at him. She was grateful for him helping out, both with her farm, and with her little situation a couple nights before. He had cleaned up the vomit that missed the toilet all by himself and put her to bed, while she was completely out of it. She felt embarrassed, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Angela still didn't know Calvin all that well, but she could tell he was going to be a good friend to her.

After the work was done, the trio headed down to Calvin's house in the mining district. It was a small house, but cozy and sweet. Kathy and Angela sat on the lumpy couch in the living room, which was in the same room as the kitchen, just separated by a little bar with stools. They flipped through channels on the tv while Calvin was making them drinks when they came across the local news station.

"Hello, I'm Gill, and this is your latest news today," the broadcast began.

"Oh my god, look at that little cowlick. Do you think he purposefully styles his hair so the cowlick is like that?" Kathy asked, laughter making her body vibrate.

"Of course he does! Absolutely no one has hair that looks like that naturally. I guess he was going for that sleek look, but mixed with the 'I just go out of bed' look."

"I think it looks pretty hot," Calvin said from behind the small bar, "In fact, I think I'm going to do that with my hair."

"If you do I will have to kill you." Angela turned and put her arm on the back of the couch, looking at the man who was walking towards her, drinks in hand.

"Don't worry, my hair's too long anyway. It will never be that perfect," he said, choking back fake tears. He handed a glass of red wine to Angela and a tall beer to Kathy. "Now Angela, don't drink too much. I don't want to hold your hair back while you vomit and proceed to clean it up again."

"I'm sorry! I said I was sorry! I feel really bad about that!"

"Don't be sorry. It was fun cleaning up throw up and carrying you to bed while you were almost unconscious!"

"Shut up!" she said, punching him on the arm, actually hitting him this time instead of missing his arm completely.

"Sounds like you two had a great night! I wish I was there to join in the fun."

"You shut up too, Kathy."

The three friends laughed and talked for almost an hour in the cozy living room, until the newscast caught their attention. Elli, the weather girl, stood in front of a screen showing a map of the island. Her face looked stoney and her voice was urgent.

"Warning. There will be a huge typhoon sweeping through the island. It was predicted to go around the island, missing us completely, but it has just made a turn towards us. It will hit in approximately 20 minutes, so stay safe and warm."

Kathy walked over to the window and peeled back the curtain, only to notice that the atmosphere had turned dark and grey, and it was already starting to rain heavily.

"Jesus Christ, I don't have time to get home! Unless I sprint. Should I try and make it?" Angela looked to her two friends for an answer.

"I wouldn't risk it. Can't you hear those strong winds? You'll get blown away. You can stay here for tonight if you want to. You too Kathy," Calvin responded. The two girls thanked him, both sincerely grateful that they wouldn't have to run home in what little time they had.

A huge crack of lightning came down and shook the small house.

"Holy shit!" Calvin exclaimed, "How didn't we notice the storm starting earlier?"

"I don't know. We'll be okay though, I'm sure." Kathy put one hand on Calvin's shoulder and gave a weak smile.

"Wait. Do you think Toucan Island is going to be affected!? Selena and Luke are on their freaking honeymoon!" Angela realized. "I'm going to call him." She took out her cellphone and dialed Luke. He answered a few seconds later.

"Angie! What's up?"

"Luke! You know this giant typhoon that's sweeping over the island? I was wondering if that's also affecting Toucan island."

"Oh my god, yes! It's so uncool. And," Luke began to whisper into the receiver of the phone, "Selena and I are stuck in the main house with her parents. Can you believe it? What a great honeymoon. There's barely been any hot sex. Oh, sorry if that was weird."

"Um, no it's fine. Well that sucks for you. I'm at Calvin's and Kathy's with us. We're gonna stay here for the night. Oh shit. I just realized my crops that I  _just_ planted are going to be torn up. Damn." Calvin and Kathy laughed in the background.

"Haha, sucks for you! I can help you replant everything when I get back. I'll even split the cost of the seeds with you."

"Oh god, thanks Luke. I love you, bye." There was a small silence on the other end of the phone at the words "I love you". Angela didn't mean to say them, but they just came out.

"Yeah, bye Angela." Angela looked over at her friends sitting on the couch as they stared at her a little shocked.

"You love him?" Kathy giggled behind her hand.

"As a friend, yes! We used to say it all the time. Four years shouldn't change anything."

"Yeah, whatever, weirdo."

Angela informed Calvin and Kathy about Luke and Selena's situation then slumped on the couch, ready for the long night.

An hour later, the storm was getting worse and worse. It still wasn't at its peak, but it was definitely doing some damage. Trees were being knocked down, and the electricity had gone out in most places. Calvin didn't have a generator at his house, so there were lit candles all over the place. It was kind of fun, Angela had to admit, hanging out in Calvin's small, darkened house. Since the power was out, the trio made it their duty to use all they could from the fridge to create a wonderful typhoon feast. Calvin turned out to be quite the cook, and whipped up a meal consisting of baked chicken parmesan, broccoletti (a broccoli and spinach type mixture smothered in garlic and salt), and of course, more alcohol.

At the peak of the storm, around 11 PM, the two girls were gathered on the couch in a bundle of blankets while Calvin sat on the ground, his legs crossed. They all were on edge because earlier they had heard what seemed to be a mini avalanche of rocks falling from the mountain. Calvin's house was right next to the mountain, and a few small rocks scratched his window, but no serious damage had been done.

"Um, Calvin? What are the sleeping arrangements going to be? I'm exhausted and this storm is freaking me out," Kathy asked.

"Well, you can sleep in my bed if you want. That's the only bed here. Angela, you can sleep with her too, and I will sleep on the couch."

"Thank you so much! Good night guys, and thanks again for letting us stay here."

"Actually, I change my mind. I don't want you here Kathy. Leave and go walk home in this terrible storm. Let's see if you survive." Calvin leaned his head towards Angela, "I bet $5 that she won't."

"No way! I bet $5 that she will!" Angela joked back.

"Fuck you guys, I'm going to bed." And with that, Calvin led Kathy and Angela to his room to show them where everything was and help get them situated.

"This is my lovely bedroom, as you can see. The bed is here, the stereo is here, the closet is here," he began pointing all over the room and pointing out the obvious, "and the dresser is here, and…Kathy?" Kathy had whipped off her shirt and undid the clasp of her bra, throwing it on the ground, and picked out one of Calvin's loose t-shirts that said "El Yunque, Puerto Rico" from his dresser.

"What? You've seen me naked before." Kathy laughed at Calvin's bright red face and look of disbelief.

"ANYWAY…this is my room. And I hope you ladies enjoy staying in it. It only costs $50 per night," He said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'll definitely pay you," Kathy rolled her eyes and slipped on the shirt. Angela walked over and sat on the bed next to the outgoing girl.

"Goodnight Kathy." she said as she ruffled Kathy's hair.

"Goodnight." Kathy said softly, closing her eyes for the last time that day. Calvin and Angela traveled back to the couch to watch old Gilligan's Island reruns.

"Ginger was always my favorite. What a babe." Angela pointed at the screen towards the black and white movie star.

"Eh. She's alright. My favorite, of course, is Gilligan, the star of the show. But you know who I really hate? The millionaires!"

"I agree! They're so…BLAH!"

"Totally!" Out of nowhere, a loud snore came from where Kathy was sleeping. Angela looked at Calvin and burst out laughing.

"Please don't make me sleep in there! I won't be able to sleep with her obnoxious snoring."

"Fine, fine. You can sleep on the couch and I can sleep on the ground, your majesty." After sitting close and watching Gilligan's Island for a while, Calvin realized that the girl who was fast becoming his friend was actually kind of a stranger to him.

"Angela?" he started, "Tell me about yourself. I know almost nothing about your past. I know you lived on this island, but that's all I know. Selena didn't seem to even know who you were, but you and Luke were obviously close enough for him to invite you to his wedding."

Angela sighed and leaned her head on Calvin's shoulder, preparing to tell him her life story. "I was born on this island and lived here until I was 16. My mom and dad were farmers, but my mom was also a scientist who was researching the goddess tree, you know the one? Kathy had been my best friend since we were little, since we were both around the same age, and same with Luke and Owen. School was fun, and I always hated Gill. Haha, oh Gill. What a prick. And you know Chase, right? He was so mean to me! But he could be weirdly nice too. One time in sixth grade, I had gotten my period and bled through my pants. Everyone made fun of me, but Chase yelled at all of them and took me to the nurse. It was really weird. I had the hugest crush on him that year too!"

"Interesting choice. I'm like, 90% sure he's gay though."

"I don't know! Since I've known him, he's dated girls and boys. Who knows. Anyway, Luke and I weren't just best friends. He was my boyfriend all of sophomore year. He was actually my first boyfriend, and it wasn't just a stupid high school romance that ended in a week. We lost our virginities to each other and the whole deal. We were each other's first for pretty much everything. So, when I had to leave because the island went to shit in pretty much every way imaginable and my parents couldn't make a living, I was leaving my whole life behind. I kept in touch with Luke for a year, but we lost contact. So I was thrilled to get a wedding invitation from him, and I decided to move back here and make a living as a farmer, since the island is better and healthier."

"Interesting, interesting. I feel like I know the real Angela better now. So, does Selena know that you two dated?"

"I don't think so. And I'm not going to mention it."

"Yeah, I wouldn't just yet. So you lost your virginity to Luke when you were 16, eh?"

"And he lost his to me too! Don't forget that. Wow, I'm getting really personal with you. Tell me about you!"

"Okay, but there's not really much to say. My parents were both professional photographers who traveled all over the world to photograph wildlife. We stayed in Africa mostly, but we traveled to the Caribbean and South America, and occasionally Europe. So when I finally went away to live on my own when I was 18, I also traveled to different countries. But I soon found that I had been traveling since day one and I wanted to settle for a while. So when I heard about this little island in the middle of nowhere, I decided to stay here for a bit. I've been here for about three years now. As far as girlfriends go, I never had a lot. I usually had flings with women from the places I visited because I was always on the move, so serious relationships were never something that I thought about."

"So, who was the lucky lady to take your virginity? As we already established my history with that."

"Well, it was this beautiful Jamaican girl. I feel bad, but I don't even remember her name! I was 21 years old at the time, and I never saw her again."

'Wait, so if you were 21 then, how old are you now?"

"I'm 26, actually. How old are you?"

"20. Did you think i was older or something?"

"No, not really. I guessed you were at least 18."

"Yeah, I do look really young for my age." Angela sounded disappointed in how youthful she looked.

"That doesn't mean you don't look beautiful." Angela was extremely flattered by Calvin's compliment. She didn't feel particularly beautiful, with her choppy brown hair, fairly flat chest, and eyes that were too big for her face, but that didn't mean that the compliment meant nothing to her.

Angela picked up her head and looked into Calvin's face and took it in. He definitely did look older than 20, with his sun-burned, weather-beaten face. He had a long, straight nose, and small, watery blue eyes. He had a crooked smile, and upon further examination, she noticed that he had a light dusting of freckles across his nose and cheeks.

"You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Indiana Jones." Angela had never really felt any sort of physical attraction towards Calvin before, but she had an incredible urge to kiss him and run her fingers through his shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. Apparently Calvin had the same feelings, as he leaned down and closed the short distance between their faces with a light kiss. He pulled away and looked into her eyes to see if she had responded towards his kiss positively, which she definitely had.

Angela pushed her face back towards Calvin's and kissed him deeply. She let out a little giggle as she kissed him, not believing that this was happening. He laughed a little back, having the same thoughts. Angela shifted her weight onto him and straddled his lap while he ran his hands up and down her back. What's happening? How far is this going to go?, she thought to herself as he began to tug at the front of her shirt playfully. She weaved her fingers through his hair and let her shirt be pulled over her head and thrown to the side. Now only in her bra, Calvin traced his cold hands up and down her sides, making her shiver.

Angela felt great, more than great, actually, but she didn't want to move so fast with someone she only started to really get to know. She pulled her head away from Calvin's and looked into his face.

"Calvin, I think that's enough for one night." Angela was usually met with protest when situations like this arose, so she was surprised when he smiled at her and helped her put back on her shirt, respecting what she wanted without question.

"Wanna go out sometime, Angela?" Calvin whispered, laughing slightly, as the answer to this question was obviously yes.

"No way, I think you're gross." Angela cuddled close to him on the couch and stuck out her tongue in a childish way.

"I thought you might say that. I am pretty gross. I might give you cooties." Calvin leaned in and kissed her one last time before settling in for the night.

 


	7. Selena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! There hasn't been much commentary before chapters yet, but I thought I would like to say thank you to all of those who read this story! I've been planning this story for a while and I'm super excited to be writing this! This particular chapter is rather short, but there is a lot in store for our favorite islanders, so stay tuned.

 

 

 

"Yeah, bye Angela," Luke hung up the phone, wondering to himself why she would say she loved him. It must've been purely platonic. They were, in fact, great friends. Even a gap of four years couldn't make her stop loving him, right? Luke brushed it off, trying to stop thinking of Angela possibly loving him, or him loving her in a romantic way. That kiss had screwed everything up that night at the beach, but he needed to get over it. It was a mistake.

Luke wandered back over to his pregnant wife and her parents. They were all huddled in the back bedroom talking about the baby and how everything would play out once it was born. Selena had been pregnant for about 6 weeks, although it was hard to say since they hadn't gone to a prenatal visit at the doctor's.

"If it's a boy, what would you want to name it?" Sue asked, laying a hand on Selena's leg, excitement pouring out of her beaming smile.

"Well, um, I haven't really thought of that. It's still really early."

"You should name him Sampson, after his awesome grandpa." Sampson chuckled heartily.

"Names can wait. I'm just wondering how I'm going to break the news to the rest of the island. Do you think the more traditional people on the island will judge me for getting pregnant before I got married?" Luke sat down next to Selena and placed a hand on her back.

"They won't have to know that you got pregnant before marriage," Luke smiled reassuringly to his anxiety filled wife.

"I guess you're right. I'm just so nervous," Selena murmured.

* * *

Selena woke up early in the morning, before anyone else, which seemed pretty strange since her parents were known to be early-risers. The storm had left them to all to stay in the main building, so instead of staying in the private beach house, she was forced to stay in a cramped extra room next to her parents'.

She pulled herself out of bed and groggily walked to the bathroom. She pulled down her silk pajama shorts and sat on the toilet, noticing a trace of blood on her panties. Did she just get her period? Was it just late this whole time? What about the pregnancy test? It must have been incorrect.

Her first response was to celebrate. She didn't want to be a mother so early, so she should be overjoyed! But she had married Luke all because of this, so was this marriage for nothing? She had a sudden pang of anxiety rip through her chest.

She grabbed a tampon from under the sink and slid it into place, wondering what she was going to do about her situation. Just as she finished washing her hands Luke wandered into the bathroom without a shirt and bedhead sticking everywhere.

"Hey, beautiful," He reached his arms around her middle and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning, doofus. I have some news."

"Uh huh?" He looked into her eyes through the mirror, and she looked back up at him.

"I just got my period. So, I'm not pregnant after all," Luke's hands dropped and he took a step back, astonished.

"What about the pregnancy test?"

"I don't know. I guess they can be wrong sometimes."

"Well, what about our marriage?"

"What about it?"

"We only got married for the baby. That's the whole reason we went through with this crazy idea!"

"Crazy idea? Well, yeah, it was kinda crazy, but I think this was the right choice, even if there is no baby! I love you, Luke."

"I mean, I love you too, but I'm not sure I agree! Selena, maybe we should just go back to being girlfriend and boyfriend. Marriage is a big commitment that we don't need to rush into, especially if there is no baby after all."

"Luke! It's already done! What do you want to do? Get a divorce?!"

"Well, yes." Luke looked down at her with a stony expression. She had tears well into her eyes. She hated crying, but this was shocking! Were they really going to get a divorce less than a week after their marriage?

"The baby is the only reason you decided to stay with me then?" she choked out.

"Yes," he said flatly. Selena lost it. Tears streamed down her face as she swept the toiletries off the sink in a rage.

"You think you can mess with me like this? You're a filthy bastard! Leave this island, and never talk to me again!" Luke's face remained emotionless as he left the bathroom without a word, leaving a broken, sobbing Selena by herself.

The pillow was wet with tears when Selena woke up. Upon opening her eyes, a gasp escaped her lips. She rolled over and saw Luke's form rising and falling from his deep breaths. She reached a hand down to feel her underwear, where there was no tell-tale wet spot from blood. She sighed in relief, then fell back asleep.

* * *

"Goodbye, baby!" Sue embraced her daughter and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and stepped back, watching her board the boat. Luke and Selena waved to Sue and Sampson as they departed. The storm had passed after the night, but the sky was still dark and ominous and rain sprinkled lightly.

Selena decided not to tell Luke about her horrendous dream. It still haunted her and she could see the dream play out behind her eyelids every time she closed her eyes. There was no way that Luke would act that way in real life. He loved her dearly, she knew that, but there was still a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that this marriage was a mistake. Looking at Luke, with his head turned toward the ocean and his hair whipping around in the wind, she brushed away her discomfort. Luke was the love of her life, and that was certain.

After a short 30 minute boat ride they finally arrived back home. Selena had called the doctor's earlier and scheduled an appointment for shortly after they arrived. The young couple dumped all of their luggage and belongings back at their new house in the mining district and traveled to the doctor's for Selena's first check-up.

The bell jingled as Selena and Luke entered the small doctor's office. They were greeted by blinding white walls and the smell of chemicals and cleaning supplies. Irene, the old woman at the front counter, ushered them into a small room where they would be met by Jin.

Selena sat on the little table and Luke sat in a chair next to her. He grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze, just as Jin walked in and sat on a little stool, balancing a laptop on his knees.

"Hello Selena, Luke. I hear you're pregnant. Congratulations!"

"Ha, well, thanks," she replied anxiously.

"You look so nervous. There's no need to be. All we will be doing today is talking and maybe do a pap smear to check for any abnormal cells, which is highly unlikely."

"What the hell is a pap smear?" Luke questioned, which prompted Selena to roll her eyes.

"How do you not know what that is?" Selena jabbed.

"It's fine. Luke, a pap smear is a screening test for cervical cancer. Cells are scraped from the opening of the cervix and examined under a microscope."

"That sounds…painful."

"Well, it's certainly not comfortable," Jin pushed up his glasses and turned his attention back to his patient. He continued to ask when her last period was, how regular they were, and if she or Luke had any defects or genetic disorders that ran in their family.

He also reminded Selena that she should not drink, smoke, or do anything of the sort that could harm the baby. After a long informative session, Luke left the room so tests could be done on Selena, such as the pap smear and some blood work.

Selena and Luke walked hand in hand out of the office after the prenatal visit had been completed and everything seemed to be in good shape.

 


	8. The End of Summer

The Summer Festival was the last festival of the season, and it was nearing the end of August. August certainly was an eventful month for many people living in Castanet. There was an unplanned pregnancy that was still a secret to the majority of the island, a wedding between two nervous individuals just entering adulthood, a returning villager, a scandalous kiss, and a budding romance. Soon, the Summer Festival would mark the end of August and the start of September, and our favorite group of friends wanted to end summer with a bang.

* * *

Night was nearing and the Festival was beginning. Calvin and Angela wanted to go together and watch the fireworks alone for their first official date, but their friends had other plans. Their relationship, if it could even be categorized as one, was still kept hidden, and if their friends wanted to do something as a group, it wouldn't kill them to delay their first date for another day.

_Knock knock knock_

Angela opened her door only to see Kathy's beaming face on the other side, her long blonde hair falling in a perfect curl on her shoulder.

"Come on Angie, we don't want to be late!" Kathy grabbed Angela's hand and took off down the dirt path to Harmonic Town's beach. The Summer Festival was usually crowded, since almost all of the villagers attended, but by night time after the fireworks show was done, only the young people were left roaming. This was the time that these friends lived for, where they could throw an end of the season bash.

The sky was streaked with shades of orange and purple, the large red sun half hidden by the horizon line. Booths were being dismantled and fishing poles were being put away, as the fireworks show was starting soon. Families and friends lounged on towels and blankets on the sand, chatting excitedly.

Kathy and Angela hurried to their favorite spot on the beach and laid down multiple blankets. They always sat in the same spot in the corner of the beach, far away from the rest of the villagers.

"Angela, it's so good that you're back. We can enjoy all the festivals like we used to. It's been so weird without you here," Kathy said snuggling closer to her best friend.

"I missed this, I really did," Angela said softly, laying her head on Kathy's shoulder. She glanced to the side only to see Luke barreling towards them with Selena, Owen, and Calvin following closely behind.

"Hey guys! Are you pumped or what?" Luke plopped down in front of the two girls with a huge grin plastered on his face. Selena sat down gracefully next to him cuddling up close to his side. Angela didn't see her often, but when she did, she couldn't stop thinking about how she was pregnant. It was so strange to her, and she only was reminded of it when she saw Selena herself. It was hard to picture Luke as a father.

"Luke, of course, can't contain his excitement. Look at him, he's shaking like a little chihuahua." Owen chuckled as he settled down onto one of the many blankets on the sand. Calvin strolled over as well, and almost leaned in to kiss Angela, before remembering that no one knew quite yet that they were a thing. He sat down next to Angela and squeezed her shoulder playfully instead.

"Okay, so here's the plan," Luke started, "At around 9 pm, everyone will start to leave, except for the usual people, of course. And I know that we do this every year, but I checked with Hamilton to make sure it was okay that we had our little beach party. The people of Harmonica Town are already preparing to block us out. Kathy, you got the music playlist all set up, right?" After a quick nod from Kathy, he continued. "Owen and Angela, you guys got all the drinks and stuff?" Angela and Owen nodded as well. "And Chase is cooking with the help of you, Kathy. And Selena, you and I can set up the bonfires and do any extra stuff, kay babe?" He smiled crookedly at his new wife, causing her to roll her eyes, although she really did enjoy his goofiness.

"Sounds like we're all set!" exclaimed Owen. "Now it's time to relax and watch the fireworks!"

Soon after, the fireworks started to go off. The sky was dark at this point, and the twinkling of the stars only added to their mystery and dazzling vibe. Selena and Luke were all cuddled up in their own little world. Kathy and Owen danced around wildly while the fireworks were constantly flying into the atmosphere, laughing hysterically. Thankfully, most of the villagers were pretty far away from the group, so they were free to goof around as much as they pleased. Calvin laid on the ground and Angela put her head on his chest.

"When are we going to have some alone time," she whispered to him, making sure no one could hear them.

"Hopefully soon. I really want to see you again, by ourselves." Calvin glanced down at her small face and ran his fingers through her hair. She stole a quick kiss before anyone could notice. The fireworks seemed endless, but eventually they stopped, everyone clapped, and people started to leave. It was time.

Kathy set up the stereo and played music while Luke and Selena started two bonfires, the orange and red colors reflecting onto the ocean water. Calvin helped Chase set out the food while Owen and Angela traveled to the bar to pick up all the drinks.

"You know, Owen?" Angela started on their way to the Brass Bar, "I don't think you and I have had a chance to catch up, just the two of us, since I came here."

"I guess not! So, you want to know what's new with Castanet then?"

"Well, I want to know what's new with you! We used to be so close and I just want to know if you're the same old Owen." She looked up to face him and gave him her friendliest smile.

"I guess I'm pretty much the same. Nothing new has really happened. Ramsey is still going strong and Chloe is still super crazy. You seem like practically the same person too!"

"Four years didn't change much I guess, other than the whole Luke and Selena thing."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that actually, but I haven't gotten a good chance. How are you taking that?" There was a slight silence, but Angela soon came up with an answer.

"I'm fine. I'm glad he's happy. It was a little weird at first, because we were so close and we had such a strong relationship considering we were only teenagers, but I'm okay." She smiled, knowing that what she said was true. Although she was happy for Luke and Selena, she couldn't shake off the feeling that deep down she still had feelings for him. She pushed those feelings further down within her and moved on, knowing that now she was going to start new, and maybe she and Calvin would really have something special.

Angela and Owen entered the bar, where there were coolers full of beer, wine, liquor, and the works. There was also water available for those who didn't want to drink. They began picking up the coolers and lugging them back to the beach one by one. It would take a couple of trips, but it was nice for both of them to get to talk to each other again.

"Angela? There's been another thing I've been meaning to ask about."

"Uh-huh?"

"Wow, this is embarrassing. Okay. So, I've kind of had feelings for Kathy recently and I…" Owen was cut short. Angela whipped her head around with her mouth hanging open, a look of complete delight on her face.

"Oh my god! Owen! This is the best thing I have ever heard, and no, I am not exaggerating." Owen's face turned completely red and Angela wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders. He was extremely tall, 6'5", so it was quite difficult to even get her arm to reach his shoulders.

"Thanks? Well I was…" Owen was interrupted once again.

"Are you going to make a move? Is this THE night?" she asked eagerly.

"Maybe. I always chicken out when I plan to." He looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"Well, force yourself to. It'll be fine. This is a perfect night! I'm sure she will be ecstatic about this."

"Haha, thanks Angela." Angela stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and they continued lugging the coolers to the beach until there were none left.

* * *

"Um, Luke. I don't think this is the best IDEAAAA!" Selena screamed as the bandana-clad carpenter set fire to the soccer ball.

"What are you talking about? This is the best idea that I've ever had!" he responded as he kicked the flaming ball with all his might. "HEADS UP GILL!" The soccer ball soared over people's heads and was headed straight for the mayor's son.

"Oh my!" Gill yelped as he dove out of the path of the soccer ball, landing softly on the sand. He stood up quickly, smoothing down his platinum blonde hair, with a look of anger and disgust on his face. "LUKE! What do you think you're doing?" He yelled across the beach. Luke was not sorry in the least, but instead was cracking up laughing.

"I was thinking that'd I'd have a little fun!"

"Hey Gill! Duck!" Called a voice behind him. Gill turned around, still fuming, only to see the fiery ball once again being launched towards his head, this time by Chase. He threw his feet out from under him and slammed onto the ground to avoid being torched like Chase's famous créme brûlée. Luke caught the ball with his foot wearing a look of wonder.

"Yo Chase! I didn't know you could kick like that!"

"Yeah, well." Chase filled with pride at Luke's comment, but his happiness turned to annoyance as Gill marched up to him with his haughty little stride.

"What the hell were you thinking? How many times do I have to tell you that I do not partake in dangerous activities?"

"When else have you had to tell him that?" Julius, the fanciful expert of everything fashion and jewelry related asked softly to Gill, a curious look on his perfectly made-up face.

"That is none of your business, Julius." He said through tight lips. Chase laid a hand on Gill's shoulder.

"Chill man. It's just soccer. Go get a drink and relax," Chase said reassuringly. His words seemed to calm Gill, at least a little, as Gill complied and went over to the coolers.

Chase and Luke passed the ball back and forth, the fire illuminating the sky around it. People watched in awe, and others joined in. Angela stood with a glass of red wine in her hand, looking on and laughing at the scene in front of her. A man came up from behind and put a hand gently on her shoulder. She looked back and recognized that it was Calvin.

"Hey Calvin, how are you?" She laughed a little from the formal greeting.

"I'm spectacular. And you?"

"Also very spectacular."

"So, the bar is empty right now." Calvin started, only to be stopped by Angela's finger being pressed against his lips.

"Say no more."

The two traveled hand in hand giddily to the empty bar, where they could finally have some alone time. Sure, they loved hanging out with their friends, but they had been dying to see each other with no one else around.

"So, are you having fun?" Calvin asked when they reached the inside of the bar. There was no answer to his question as Angela took hold of the back of his head and smashed her face to his. Her soft pink lips parted slightly and the kiss deepened. They were both filled to the brim with passion and had been waiting for this exact moment all day. They had only been together for a short time, but they hadn't been able to be together alone since the night of the storm.

Calvin was a little surprised at how straightforward Angela was. When looking at her, one would assume she was sweet and innocent, and wasn't the type to make a first move, but the way someone looks doesn't always determine their personality.

Calvin lifted Angela so she was sitting on the bar, her legs wrapped around his middle. She snaked her arms down his back until she reached the bottom of his shirt and yanked it up over his head. She flattened the palms of her hands on his chest and ran her hands slowly down to the top of his pants. She pulled back from the kiss and took a quick look at his expression, which was nothing but complete joy. She had never moved this fast with any of her past boyfriends, if she would even call Calvin her boyfriend at all.

Angela began working away at the button and zipper of his pants with a huge grin on her face. It was exhilarating to be so daring.

"You're okay with this?" she quickly asked, making sure that this was what they both wanted.

"Definitely." Calvin said breathlessly. Angela took the liberty of undressing herself, taking off her clothes in a flash. Calvin placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly slid them down the rest of her body, resting them on her thighs. She threw her head back with a small laugh to which Calvin responded by wrapping his hand around the back of her head and kissing her neck. Then, without warning, he was inside of her. She gasped and looked down surprisingly. It had been a while since she last had sex, so this was especially nice.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close as he rocked gently against her. He picked up the pace, which made Angela squirm just a little. She giggled nervously, as this was all happening so soon in their relationship, but she felt comfortable with it for the most part.

Their laughs and moans filled the empty bar as they enjoyed their first time together of many.

* * *

Angela smoothed down her hair as she wiped down the bar with a towel.

"You're so funny about cleaning this place up." Calvin said as he looked down at her face with heavy eyes.

"You think I'm just going to leave this bar dirty with traces of…us? There's no way to make that sound normal."

"Yeah, you're right. Here, let me help." Calvin grabbed some cleaning supplies and helped disinfect the bar.

"So, when we go back down there…I think I should walk down their first, then you can follow a minute or so later. I'll say I was…shit I don't know, grabbing another Sam Adams, since they're out down there."

"So you went and grabbed a beer and took a half-hour detour on the way?"

"Shut up. Of course not. I don't know what to say. Let's just wing it." She smiled at him and ran out the door.

"Wait, Angela! We have to have a plan!" Calvin shouted out the door, but by then, it was too late.

Angela arrived at the beach only to be greeted by a circle of people playing Truth or Dare.

"What are you guys, teenagers?" Angela joked when she caught everyone's attention.

"Yes." Luna replied calmly. The youngest in the circle, Luna was only 17 years old. Everyone else, which included Luke, Selena, Owen, Kathy, Gill, Chase, Julius, Maya, and soon-to-be Calvin were all at least twenty.

"Angela! You missed it! Gill had to get completely naked and swim around in the ocean! He threw a fit!" Luke shouted excitedly.

"I really wish I could've seen that. Sorry Gill." Angela apologized for Luke's antics, which seemed to happen a lot, or at least it used to when they were rebellious kids. Gill just grumbled in reply.

"Anyway, I think it's time someone truth or dared Angela!" Luke exclaimed. Angela rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face and plopped down on the sand next to him. "Who wants the honor?"

"I'll ask her!" Angela's best friend Kathy stood up to the plate. "Truth...or dare?" She made sure to make the question extra-dramatic, causing Angela to roll her eyes once again.

"Hm, truth."

"Alright…we have to make this a good one." Kathy tapped her finger on the side of her forehead as she thought. "Okay! I got it. When was the last time you had sex?"

Angela's face whitened and she looked around nervously. She was about to lie and say the last time was in the city with her former boyfriend about a year ago when Calvin walked up to the group.

"Hey guys. What's got you all gathered in a circle?" He gave a flashy smile and sat down across from Angela next to Owen.

"We're playing truth or dare. Angela was just asked when the last time she had sex was," Kathy answered Calvin's question. She looked towards him and saw an expression of pure horror. He and Angela had matching scared, pale faces. Kathy looked back and forth between them, and also taking into account that they were both gone for a while and came back around the same time, she realized what was going on. "Oh my god," she muttered, a look of shock on her face. No one else seemed to pick up on what was going on.

"Um…to answer your question, the last time I had sex was just under a year ago with my past boyfriend in the city. So, is it my turn to ask someone?" Angela blurted out quickly. Kathy stared at her with a little crooked smile and raised eyebrows.

"Luke, why don't you take charge? I have to talk to Angela about something."

"Sure thing!" He responded giddily, completely oblivious to the situation.

Kathy stood up and grabbed Angela's arm, dragging her to the city street. Calvin stayed where he was, watching the scene happen before his eyes. He realized that Kathy knew, but he hoped she wouldn't spread it around like she usually seemed to do.

"Oh my god, Angela!" Kathy practically screeched once they were out of earshot.

"Guys! What's going on? You both looked like you had seen a ghost, so I thought I would come too and check on you." Selena marched up to the girls, genuinely worried that something was wrong.

"I'M fine. But it's Angela who has some news to spill!"

"Angela?"

"Um, um. FINE. But you guys can NOT tell anyone else." Angela felt a little uncomfortable with Selena being there. They weren't really that close, but she did know some things about Selena that no one else knew, so she guessed it was fair that Selena learned some of her secrets.

After the two girls promised not to tell a soul, Angela spilled the beans, although she still didn't fully trust Kathy to keep this to herself.

"So, Calvin and I kind of hooked up the night of the storm, and…" She was interrupted by a small gasp from Selena.

"Sorry, go on."

"Well, that night we only kissed. I stopped it before we went any further, but I don't know. I just felt really connected to him really soon, and we kind of snuck off and," she took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she was about to say, "we had sex in the bar when it was empty."

"Oh. My. God," Kathy said for the third time that night. "That's amazing. And also super disgusting! Did you clean off the bar? Because I sure as hell am not."

"Don't worry. We took care of it." Angela blushed and Kathy gave her a big hug. They looked at Selena standing by herself and pulled her into the hug too.

Selena was actually quite happy with the news. She enjoyed the thought of Angela being with another person and not being with Luke. She sensed some weird history between Luke and Angela, and every now and then she could feel the sexual tension between them. But with Calvin in the picture, maybe all she thought was happening between Luke and Angela was just in her head.

The three girls strolled back down to the beach to finish their eventful game of Truth or Dare and to end the party with a bang.

 


	9. An Announcement

**September 18th, 9:30 AM**

The water made its path down Selena's bronze skin, steam rolling off of each warm drop. Her long, wet hair dangled down her back as she tilted her face towards the steady stream from the shower head. She picked up the bar of soap and washed her body, moving the soap over each feminine curve.

Her face grew unusually warm, and she could feel her cheeks reddening. Hot tears squeezed their way out of her eyes, dripping down the sides of the straight bridge of her nose.

_Why am I crying?_

She stepped out of the steam filled shower and dried her hair with a towel. Wiping off the condensation in the mirror, she looked at her reflection of a swollen face and puffy, red eyes.

Ever since she learned that she was pregnant, her emotions went haywire. She used to never cry and was generally a very happy person. She thought that she should be happy now because she was starting a new family. Wasn't that what she always wanted? Taking a deep breath, she wiped the tears away from her face and composed herself.

Selena wrapped the towel around her body and walked into her cozy bedroom where Luke stood getting dressed for work. She plopped onto their bed still dressed in nothing but a towel and watched Luke struggle to get each leg in his pants.

"You are such an idiot. You can't even get your pants on," she said sassily, one side of her mouth pulled up in an amused smile. Luke turned around and rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up," he said with a slight laugh. After successfully dressing himself, he sat down next to his wife and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "You know, Selena? You still look exactly the same. When are you going to start showing?"

"It's only been two months. I've gained like, two pounds." She smiled as she looked down at her hands, which she had been nervously playing with. "Luke. I think we should tell people now, about the pregnancy. At least our friends anyway. I…I really need to get this off my chest. You think I would be okay with everything by now, but, I just…I'm so uncomfortable." For the second time that morning, tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall.

Luke wrapped his strong arm around her shoulder and brought her head to his chest, kissing the top of her head.

"It's going to be fine. Better than fine actually! We're going to have a son or daughter and we're going to love them! I've never heard of someone who regretted having a kid." This made Selena feel slightly better, but she couldn't calm down. "We can tell our friends tonight. Let's all go somewhere fun.," he was silent for a couple of seconds, thinking of where they could go. "How about right here? We moved here less than a month ago and none of them have really seen the place."

"Ok," replied Selena, her voice muffled against Luke's t-shirt. "Let's do it then."

* * *

**9:30 AM**

Angela woke up smiling with her head on Calvin's broad chest. Things had really been looking up for her the past month that she had been back on the island. Thankfully, she had finally gotten her farm up and running, with the help of her friends, of course. Her field was all set up with various plants that wouldn't be ready to harvest until the start of fall, plus she had bought her very first cow. Angela didn't have many animals when she was young, so she was still learning how to be a full-on rancher.

Swinging her legs off the bed carefully, Angela stood up, wearing nothing but a pair of black panties. She slipped on a plain white t-shirt and a pair of shorts, ready to start her work-filled morning.

Calvin stirred from where he was sleeping and looked up at Angela while she dressed. He got up without a sound and wrapped his arms around Angela's middle, causing her to jump.

"Shit! How are you so quiet?" she gasped.

"I don't know. I'm just super stealthy," he replied, kissing her on the cheek. "Sorry for sleeping over again, for like, the fourth night in a row."

"It's really not okay," she said as she turned around to face him, placing her hands on his chest. "You need to leave, immediately. Oh, and never come back." A smile graced the lips of the sarcastic girl.

"If you insist!" He picked up his clothes from the floor and got dressed. "You know, if I'm going to be staying over here more often, maybe I should leave some clothes here."

"Sounds great." Angela leaned towards Calvin and kissed him, thinking to herself that things must be getting a bit more serious between them. Even though they hadn't even been together for a full month, she was happy with the pace they were going.

Eventually Calvin left for home, and it was time for Angela to get to work. She stepped outside in the warm, sunny September weather and she couldn't help but smile. She watered her plants and brushed and milked her cow, setting the fresh milk inside of the shipping box. All she had to sell at the moment was the milk her cow produced, so she wasn't making much. Of course, that amount of income would improve over time, or so she kept reminding herself. She was used to living off of nothing though. That's how her family lived before they moved to the city, and even when they were in the city, they weren't that much better off.

Thinking of her parents made her wish she could see them again, or at least give them a call. She made a mental note to do just that later that day.

She started to walk back to her house to get fully dressed and actually put on a bra, as well as brush her teeth, brush her hair, and the works, when Luke came walking by her house.

"Hey! Angie!" he called as he walked steadily towards her.

"Hey Luke. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if maybe you would like to come over tonight to just hang out and see my new place. It'd be the usual gang. Selena and I wanted to do this because, well, none of you guys have really stopped by since we moved there."

"That sounds awesome! When should I be there by?"

"Around seven I guess. All good?"

"All good. See you then." Luke smiled and waved goofily as he descended down the path back to work.

* * *

**2:45 PM**

After a long day working around her farm, Angela decided to stop by the bar and say hi to Kathy.

Swinging open the heavy door and stepping into the cool bar, she saw Chase, his back turned to her as he scrubbed the grimy stove.

"We're closed. Come back later," he said in a monotone voice, reacting to the sound of the door opening. He turned around and noticed who had come in. "Oh, it's you."

"You sound so pleased to see me Chase," she giggled as she took a seat at the bar in front of the small kitchen where Chase was cleaning up.

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Hey, can you get me a Coke?" she asked politely. After a rather menacing glare from the chef, she batted her eyelashes and smiled sweetly to persuade him.

"It's not opening hours, you get your own Coke. You know your way around." Her charm did not work.

"Well, I'm sorry Your Highness," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Making her way around to the back of the bar, she grabbed an ice-cold Coca-cola from the little refrigerator hidden from the sight of the customers. "Is Kathy here, do you know?" Angela inquired.

"Where else would she be?"

"I don't know! Whatever, I'm going to find her. Have fun cleaning." Angela took a sip from her Coke as she went through the door near the back of the bar that led to Kathy's home above. After ascending the steps to the living quarters, she strolled peacefully down the hallway leading to Kathy's room. This place was practically her second home. When she was a teenager, the two girls had sleepovers at least once or twice a week, and she always preferred coming to Kathy's. They would steal alcohol from downstairs and get tipsy in her room, praying that Hayden wouldn't find out, and he never did seem to figure out what they did behind closed doors.

At the end of the hallway, Angela grabbed the handle of Kathy's door and turned it. The door swung open and Angela walked in, only to see something she never wanted to see.

Kathy was laying on the bed, completely naked, with Owen on top of her. Her hands were placed on Owen's back and her legs were widely spread, wrapped around Owen's waist as he rocked against her. This was no gentle scene, and Angela gasped quite audibly, interrupting Kathy's rather loud moans. She dropped her nearly full Coke on the ground, causing even more of a scene.

"Oh my GOD!" Kathy yelled, wiping her bangs away from her sweaty forehead to get a better look at the intruder. Angela didn't even see Owen's reaction as she bolted out of that room at a speed she thought she was incapable of ever achieving. Running down the flight of stairs rapidly and slamming the door behind her, she ran up to Chase, grabbed his arm, and dragged him outside.

"What? What the fuck Angela?" he protested, but kept running with her anyway. Finally reaching a secluded area next to Sonata Tailoring, she stopped to catch her breath. "Angela, you look demonic," Chase commented. It was partly true, although definitely an exaggeration. Her eyes were so wide that they looked like they were going to pop out of her head, and she grabbed each of Chase's shoulders, her nails digging into his skin through his clothing.

"Chase…Oh my god…I just saw…" she said, taking a huge breath between each phrase.

"Spit it out! Jesus! You're scaring me!"

"Kathy was having sex with Owen! They were naked, and sweaty, and panting. Everything was so fast and rough and I saw it! And, and they were…"

"Hold on. I DON'T want the details," Chase interrupted, "BUT HOLY SHIT!"

"I know, right?"

Selena was walking to work, like any normal day, when she noticed the two shocked twenty year-olds huddled against the wall of the tailors'.

"Um, excuse me?" Selena started, "What the hell is going on?" Chase and Angela quickly exchanged a look, and Angela took the liberty of telling Selena the big news.

"I just walked in on Kathy and Owen doing it!" There was a brief silence while Selena's face transformed. Her perfect red lips parted and her mouth hung open, paralyzed from shock.

"No way!" she finally said.

"Yes way! Can you believe it?" Angela was very excited about the whole ordeal.

"Actually yes. It was obvious she liked him, I just didn't know he felt that way too!"

"What? I didn't realize she liked him, but he actually told me he was into her. That was at the summer party though, and he never seemed to make a move."

"Huh, I wonder who made the first move this time." Selena said, with a curious look on her face. Other than Chase, they longed for details and needed to talk to their best friend, ASAP.

Kathy, newly emerged from the bar wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, spotted Selena, Angela, and Chase and ran towards them.

"Uh…hey guys," she started awkwardly. She wasn't expecting Chase and Selena to be with Angela. Chase titled his head forward and gave her a knowing look. "Jesus Christ, you told them?"

"What were you expecting me to do? Oh my god Kathy, we have to talk," Angela replied.

"Yeah, that'll happen, but I have business to attend to, so I'll see you tonight I guess." Kathy's usual sunny demeanor was not present and she instead wore a look of pure embarrassment.

"By business, do you mean Owen?" Selena remarked, causing Angela to drown in a fit of giggles. Selena's face beamed with pride at her little joke, but Kathy just turned an even darker shade of red.

"I said I'll see you tonight. Oh, and Selena. Since the bar is closing early tonight you don't even have to show up." And with that, Kathy hiked back up to the bar, where she could be free from constant questioning.

The dancer looked at the farmer, and they burst into laughter.

* * *

**8:00 PM**

"I have never thrown up from drinking too much! It's just never happened!" Selena exclaimed. Her little get-together was finally happening, but she hadn't yet had the chance to tell her friends about her pregnancy.

"There is no way. I do not believe that for a second. I mean, I haven't thrown up from drinking too much since I was probably 24, but it's definitely happened multiple times," Calvin responded from the little couch where he was nestled between Angela and Kathy. Kathy felt rather awkward from her whole experience earlier today, and whenever she made eye contact with Owen, she looked away very quickly. Embarrassment and awkwardness oozed out of both of them, but thankfully for them, no one seemed to notice.

"It's true! I know my limits, unlike all of you guys. Angela, didn't you throw up in the bar's bathroom like, three days ago?"

"Yes, she did! I know because I had to clean it up." Kathy shot Angela a dirty glare, which Angela returned with an even dirtier one. "So, Selena," Kathy started, "How about we get you a drink and see if we can push you to the point of puking up your guts. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"

"Um, I'm okay."

"Come on, everyone does it at least once. I think tonight's your night." Selena started to fidget in her chair, looking down at her hands. Now seemed like the time to tell them.

"Well, I can't. And…there's a reason why." Luke, who was sitting on the arm of the chair, placed a hand on her shoulder, wanting to support her. Angela, who had found out about the pregnancy long before this, was a little surprised that she was going to tell everyone her big secret. Of course they had to find out sometime, but she could have waited at least another month until people would really start to notice her body changing.

Everyone in the room was paying full attention to what was about to come out of Selena's mouth. She took a deep breath and let go of what she had been holding in. "I'm pregnant." There was complete silence as every eye was trained on Selena.

"You…" Kathy was at a loss for words. Selena looked and felt rejuvenated, rosy, and fantastic. Getting that off her chest made her feel free, but there was still explaining to do.

"I'm ten weeks pregnant right now, and I…" she began, but was interrupted by Kathy.

"Wait, wait, wait. Ten weeks? You got married like, four weeks ago." Kathy's face was twisted in confusion, until she realized. "Did you two get married…because of this?"

"Selena and I love each other, we really do. But I mean, sometimes, when things like this happen, you just gotta make important decisions, you know? We were scared, and Pops and her parents thought that marriage was the best choice, and I don't know, we agreed with them."

Calvin and Owen sat in silence, unsure of how to react, but Kathy and Angela were overcome with emotion. Even though this wasn't news to Angela, everything just became real in that moment. Her best friend was going to be a parent. She stood up with tears brimming in her eyes and rushed over to embrace Luke. She rested her head on his shoulder and softly said, "You're going to be a great dad." Luke suddenly felt a wave of anxiety and excitement, and he began to cry as well.

"Oh my god you guys. You can't leave me out of this." Kathy rushed over and wrapped her arms around Selena's shoulders, burying her head in the crook of her neck. The two pairs soon turned into one big group of sobbing adults, although the tears shed were mostly joyful ones. Selena, most of all, was ready. She was going to be a mother, and she was determined to be a great one.

 


	10. Last Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything in italics is a flashback, just so you know!

" _Isn't it weird," Kathy started, resting her round face in her hands, "that all of our friends have seemed to hook up. First, it was Luke and Angela, then it was Luke and Selena, and now it's Calvin and Angela."_

" _Wait, wait, wait. Calvin and Angela? They're hooking up? Since when?" The blacksmith with the spiky red hair looked confused._

" _Oh, I forgot that you don't know yet." Kathy twisted around in her seat at the Brass Bar to get a better look at Owen, "It's only you and Luke that don't know really. And I guess most of the other people on the island." Kathy twisted a piece of her long blonde hair around her finger as she began to spill the details about Calvin and Angela's new relationship. Kathy had always been, and always would be, a gossip. It was her favorite hobby._

" _So that night with the scary typhoon, you know how we both stayed at Calvin's place? Yeah, well, after I had gone to bed, they totally made out." Her light green eyes sparkled with delight. "And then later, after they had only been going out for like a week, when we had that huge summer blow out, they totally snuck off and did it right here in the bar."_

" _Woah, right here?" he asked, somewhat disgusted at the thought of them having sex where he frequently kicked back for a little relaxation and cold glass of beer._

" _Mmhmm! Isn't it crazy? Well, they've been moving really fast, and they spend the night at each others places like, all the time. I could never move that fast with someone."_

" _Really? I'm not sure I could either. I feel like I'd have to be really close with a person before doing something like that."_

" _Yeah." Kathy let out a little sigh and absentmindedly played with the straw in her strawberry daiquiri. The bar hadn't officially opened, so she and Owen were just hanging out in the cool, dark interior of one of their favorite places to be._

" _I'd really like my first time to be special, not with someone I just met less than a month ago," she said, continuing the conversation. The daiquiris had really loosened her up, making her more likely to spill her personal musings._

" _Your first time?" Owen looked up into Kathy's eyes, and as soon as she realized what she had just confessed, blood rushed to her face and colored her cheeks._

" _Oh! I mean…it's not like…well…" she wore a look of defeat on her face. "Yeah, I've never really been in a serious enough relationship to get that far, but I'm not sweating it." She got bored with the straw and began to play with the little corny umbrella sitting in her drink._

" _It's okay. I'm in the same situation."_

" _Huh, what is it, honesty hour or something?" she said with a slight laugh, sticking the little pink umbrella behind Owen's ear. "There you go! Look how cute you are!"_

_Owen's heart skipped a beat at her comment. She didn't mean anything serious from it, but it still made him happy._

" _Not as cute as you though," he replied, taking the little umbrella and sticking it behind her ear instead. Just as he was pulling his hand away from her face, she reached up and grabbed it, stopping it in its path. A slight look of confusion overtook Owen's face, but was soon replaced with a look of surprise as Kathy smashed her lips against his, dropping his hand from her grip. She pulled away suddenly, looking up at his face to measure his reaction._

" _I'm sorry. I just had to try something," she muttered, playing with her hands awkwardly. It seemed to her that his look of complete shock was a sign that her kiss was not exactly welcomed._

" _I'm glad you did, actually. I really like you Kathy, I just haven't had a chance to say it." He smiled gently, and this time she was the one who wore a surprised expression. Her eyes widened even further as he leaned down for a second kiss, and after a brief pause, she began to kiss him back. One wouldn't expect Owen to be passionate and gentle, what with his extremely muscular frame and 6'5" stature, but he was full of surprises._

* * *

"And you two know the rest," Kathy said, sighing in exasperation as she fell back on her fluffy bedspread.

"No need to seem so annoyed about this. You had to tell us sometime," Angela said, responding to Kathy's rather moody tone.

"So that's it then. You guys kiss then head upstairs to fuck each other's brains out?" Selena asked.

"What an interesting choice of words Selena. And yeah, I guess. It kinda just happened that way."

"So, what's going to be the deal between you two now?" Angela shifted her weight so she could look straight into Kathy's face.

"I don't really know. We haven't talked about it or anything, but I really like him. I want this to be a long-lasting thing, you know?"

"Yeah, I do know. I love that feeling when you first start dating someone and your stomach fills with butterflies every time you see that one person. It's kind of still like that with Calvin."

"Wow Angela, I didn't know you could be so cheesy," Kathy smirked, only to be shoved off of the bed.

"And I didn't know you were so strong either," she groaned, slowly getting up.

"Just don't get pregnant like me," Selena laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't until the time is right. We used a condom anyway, so we're okay."

"That's good." Selena looked down at her stomach where a tiny bump was starting to form. It wasn't too noticeable, but she did have to retire the crop tops. She still wondered what would happen if she and Luke were careful enough to use protection. Would they still end up getting married and starting a family someday? She wasn't sure, and she still wasn't sure if having this baby was a mistake. She didn't want Kathy or Angela to fall into this situation, so she felt as if she had to make sure they were being safe. Of course she would love this child, but even after 11 weeks, she still was terrified of what was to come.

 


	11. Chapter 11

The sweat rolled off of Angela's face in waves as she worked diligently in her field. It was already the end of October and the atmosphere was starting to cool dramatically, but farm work was still extremely strenuous. Gripping the round pumpkin, she pulled with all her might until the vines finally broke and the fruit was free from the ground. Her harvest wasn't exactly the most prosperous, but it would do. After all, it was only the third month she had been a farmer. Of course, she had experience with farming when she was young, but this was different. This time she was all on her own.

Most of her pumpkins would be sold, but Halloween was the next day, so she was excited to save some to be carved. Those jack-o-lanterns would serve as spooky decorations for her little Halloween get-together.

Angela piled her harvested crops in the shipping bin to be sold, estimating how much she would earn in her head. A new farmer was never expected to earn a large income, and it wasn't like Angela was beating the odds. She always grew up more on the poor side, so she was used to not having lots of money to spend. Her field was small and the soil was fairly poor, and she only had one cow and a couple of chickens. It was a nice start, but she hoped that at least by the next year she'd be more ahead of things.

* * *

"Ew. Carving pumpkins is just not my thing," Kathy said, disgust obvious in her voice. She flicked her wrist, making the goop and seeds from the pumpkin she was carving fly through the air, landing on the clean polished floor of the bar.

"If you think I'm going to clean up your mess Kathy, then you're wrong," Chase said, his thin eyebrow raised sassily. "And why don't you get back to work anyway. I'm tired of doing both your job and mine. Get your fat ass off of that chair and take some fucking orders."

"Language, Chase! There are children in this bar!" Kathy joked back. She was rarely affected by his crass remarks. After years of working with the sarcastic chef, she was used to it.

"Children? What the hell are you talking about?" Instead of replying verbally, Kathy pointed to Selena's stomach, which had finally bulged out enough for people to notice. She never made a formal announcement, but the town had started to talk. It was impossible to keep it a secret forever.

Chase rolled his eyes, indifferent towards Kathy's little joke, but it had made Selena uncomfortable. Angela could sense this and squeezed her hand under the table. They had become fast friends since Angela returned to the island.

Selena had recently stopped dancing at the bar. Her clothes didn't fit anymore, she felt disgusting, and it would be awkward to dance with her big pregnant stomach. Of course, it wasn't too big at the moment, but still big enough that dancing in front of a crowd was out of the picture.

Staring off into space, Selena wasn't really thinking of anything in particular, but she felt sad. There wasn't any reason why she felt this way, except that being pregnant made her moods shift rapidly. Luke, completely oblivious to his wife's emotions, dragged a slimy finger down the side of her cheek.

"Ha, now you have pumpkin guts on your face," Luke said with a laugh, the corners of his mouth pulled up in a goofy grin. Selena swiped at her face furiously, desperate to get the goop off. Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed. She was obviously angry, even Luke could see that. Standing up from her seat at the table, Selena marched off to the bathroom to get away from things.

"Well that was a bit dramatic," Angela said, surprised at how angry Selena got over a little pumpkin gunk being wiped on her cheek. Luke, however, didn't seem surprised in the least.

"I'm used to this. It's been four months and she's been moodier than ever. She gets mad at me all the time, I just haven't learned to shut up and keep to myself." Luke let out a little sigh and continued to pick at the pumpkin in front of him with an exact-o knife.

"Should you go after her and maybe try to apologize?" Angela questioned, not sure how he should respond in this situation. She wasn't exactly an expert when it came to dealing with over-emotional pregnant women.

"Nah. One thing I have learned is that she likes to be left alone in these situations. I'm hoping she gets over this soon."

"If she doesn't, you only have five more months. Then the weird mood swings are over and you have a little baby to take care of!" The comment was meant to be comforting and nice, but it was clear by Luke's widened eyes and absence of color in his face that it did the opposite of comforting him.

"Woah, Luke. Are you okay? You look really pale."

"I…um. Yeah, I'm fine." He attempted to smile at Angela, but it looked obviously forced. Reaching across the table, she took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring pat.

"You'll be great. Don't worry so much." Angela's smile, unlike Luke's, was genuine. Although he may be a little flighty, she knew he was going to be a great dad.

* * *

Halloween was one of Angela's favorite holidays. The cool autumn air, the spooky atmosphere, the costumes; everything about October 31 was wonderful to her. Her love for Halloween prompted her to take the responsibility of throwing a party that year.

Balancing on a ladder, she dripped fake blood across the top of her house right under the roof. Calvin stood below her spreading cobwebs across the windows. All was peaceful, until Angela "accidentally" spilled fake blood on Calvin below. It came as a shock as the sticky substance splashed on his hat and dripped down his face. Craning his neck to get a good look at Angela, he saw her shrug her shoulders and begin her descent down the ladder.

Setting the bucket of blood down on the ground, she picked up a bag of plastic spiders and began to place them in the cobwebs Calvin was working with. She acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Wow," Calvin said with a slight laugh, and wiped off the blood from his face. Angela simply ignored his comment and continued with her work, until she was startled by Calvin wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss.

She pulled back and wiped the rest of the blood away from his face with a smile.

"I love you," Calvin said. This was the first time he'd said this to her, and it surprised even him that it came out of his mouth, but he was serious about what he had said.

Angela, of course, was also surprised at first, but her shock soon faded into happiness, and she replied with, "I love you too."

"Woah, woah, woah. Break it up you two, we've got a party in a few hours we need to finish setting up for," Luke said as he made his way up the path from the Garmon Mine District. The sight of Calvin and Angela together, kissing, embracing, in love, made Luke uncomfortable. He knew it shouldn't, but he just couldn't help but feel, well, he didn't exactly know. The first word that popped in his mind was jealous, but he knew that wasn't what he was feeling.

Angela pulled away from her boyfriend and gave him a flirty smile before turning to Luke. "Did you bring my costume?"

"Right here!" Luke held up a bag containing clothes that he frequently wore. Of course, he didn't wear the same outfit everyday, but there were certain articles of clothing that he particularly favored, and when one pictured the carpenter in their mind, those clothes went along with the image.

"Um, Luke? You're just giving her a bag of your clothes," Calvin said, confusion evident in his voice.

"Yeah? You didn't tell him Angie?" From the look on Calvin's face, Luke safely assumed that Angela hadn't, in fact, told Calvin about their genius Halloween plans.

"Ok, so here's the deal. One night me and Angie were thinking, what can we wear on Halloween that will definitely blow people away? We passed around tons of ideas, including some really weird ones. Like, what if we just showed up completely naked? I thought that would be hilarious, but Angela thought it would be 'inappropriate'," Luke said, using air quotes to make his point. "We eventually agreed on something. We'd show up dressed as each other. Totally badass, right?"

"I'm not sure badass is the right word here," Calvin chuckled.

"I think it's going to be so funny. I mean, can you imagine Luke in my tiny clothes? Speaking of that, we should find something that'll actually fit you." Angela looked Luke up and down, trying to think of something that could fit him and also be recognizable as "Angela". This wasn't exactly an easy mission. Luke was 6'3" and ripped, although he didn't have a bodybuilder type body like Owen. Angela was an average height, but she was pretty skinny, so her clothes were around a size two. There was no way that a full-grown, muscular man could fit into a women's size two, but she would make it work.

* * *

"Introducing the beautiful, stunning, and very feminine Angela!" Luke called as he stepped out of Angela's bedroom into the main living area. He wore one of Angela's favorite shirts: a long, fairly flowy green top with sleeves down to the elbows and a little zipper near the neckline. It wasn't the most fashionable choice of clothing, but it was comfortable and very practical for farm work, not to mention one of the only shirts that would fit Luke. It was even harder to find a pair of pants to fit him, but they had finally found an older, worn-out pair of jean shorts. They were baggy on Angela, but they hugged Luke's thighs, ending at a midpoint between the bottom of his butt and his knee. He looked absolutely fabulous, and he knew it. In an instant, Luke seemed to become a professional model, posing for Angela in his costume.

"Bravo, bravo!" Angela applauded his fine modeling work, and Luke turned his attention to her outfit for the evening. She wore one of Luke's many red t-shirts. The shirt was pretty tight on him, but it was huge on Angela, eating her up. She also donned Luke's infamous jacket, the one with the flaming bear head on the back. It was such a strange, obscure piece of clothing, but it was one of Luke's fashion staples. They both knew that Angela would never fit into his huge jeans, so she wore a pair of her own, but made sure that she picked a pair with rips and holes. Of course, her look wouldn't be complete without a shark-tooth necklace and a flaming bandana.

"Wow, you look hot. I never knew I was this sexy," Luke joked, looking Angela up and down.

"I always look hot, no matter what I wear. Anyway," Angela took hold of Luke's arm, "shall we enter the party?"

"I think we shall."

Exiting the inside of Angela's quaint home, the two friends emerged outside, where it was completely dark, save for the huge bonfire illuminating the sky. Selena, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, like a prisoner, stood chatting with Kathy, who was very creatively dressed as a black cat. Luke and Angela walked towards their two friends, Calvin and Owen soon joining. The other inhabitants of the island milled about, drinking, talking, and having an overall good time.

"Check us out!" Luke shouted excitedly, doing more of his impressive modeling poses, this time Angela following suit.

"Calvin!" Angela shouted, noticing his lack of costume. "What do you think you're doing? It's Halloween and you're wearing your regular clothes," she pouted.

"What you are you talking about? I'm Indiana Jones. Obviously," he scoffed. "Didn't you notice the whip?" He held up a small whip, a tool famously used by the fictional character.

"Ah, I see." Angela still thought the costume was lame, but the whip intrigued her. She tilted her head back and adopted a seductive smirk. "So, Calvin. You think maybe we could use that whip later tonight? For purposes I'd rather not discuss out loud."

"Damn, Angie. We're all right here," Luke said, laughing a little to cover his discomfort.

"I'm just kidding!" she said, cracking up. "Although, if you're into that, I'm totally down." She winked at Calvin and reached over to slap his butt.

"You know Angela, you being dressed up like Luke is making this just a little weird for me," Calvin joked, although there was a sliver of truth in his statement.

"Whatever." The skinny girl rolled her eyes. "So, Kathy. Are you seriously dressed as a black cat? How original."

"Hey! I'm not good with this type of thing!"

"And apparently neither is Owen," Selena jabbed, looking at his…costume? It seemed like he was wearing regular clothes. "What are you even supposed to be?"

"I dressed up as the scariest thing I could think of, me."

"Oh, how edgy. Maybe you two are so perfect for each other because you're both so uncreative."

"That hurts, Selena. It really does," Kathy joked. "But I really like your costume. A prisoner, huh? I don't think you could survive one night in a women's prison."

"Kathy, Kathy, Kathy. I'm fucking tough as nails. Even being four months pregnant, I could totally shank a bitch," Selena declared, pride in her voice.

"If you really did go to prison, what crime would you commit to get there?" Angela asked, genuinely curious to see what she'd have to say.

Before she could answer, her husband stepped in. "Murdering me." With her hormones going haywire, Luke wouldn't be surprised to wake up with an angry Selena hovering over his head with a knife in her hand. His comment didn't sit well with Selena though, as she shoved him, hard.

"Watch it, Luke," she said warningly.

"I'm totally right though," he laughed, and the others in the group laughed with him.

"If I went to jail, it'd probably be for something stupid. Like, possession of drugs or something," Angela submitted.

"Drugs? When have you done drugs?" Calvin looked at her with a look of curiosity in his eyes.

"Let's just say the city was crawling with drugs of all sorts. People were getting busted at school all the time for it. But most of the time you could get away with it." Angela loved talking about her time in the city. Her friends always seemed surprised to learn that she was actually quite the badass.

"Speaking of drugs and other things that mess with your brain, I need a drink," Angela said with a smile.

* * *

Several beers later, Angela was more than a little tipsy. For a fairly intelligent girl, she always seemed to drink more than she could handle. Selena, unlike Angela, could hold her liquor very well, but being pregnant obviously prevented her from drinking. She didn't need to drink to have fun though. Watching Angela stumble about was fun enough.

"Selena, you're a great friend," Angela slurred, her arm wrapped around the tanned dancer's shoulders for support.

"Thanks, Angela. You too." Selena chuckled a bit as she brushed away a stray strand of chestnut colored hair from the drunk girl's face. Looking up into Selena's eyes, Angela flashed her a huge grin. Her expression soon turned sour as a feeling of nausea settled in her stomach.

"Oh god," she muttered.

"Jesus, Angela. Are you really going to puke already? You are so weak." Selena quickly led Angela inside to go to the bathroom so she could throw up without a mess being involved. The only problem was that Selena had never been to Angela's house before, so she didn't know where any of the rooms were. It was a fairly small house, but there were still several closed doors that could be the bathroom.

"Hey, Angela. Where's the bathroom?" she asked, hoping to get an intelligible answer. Angela pointed to a door on their right, so Selena opened the door and led the girl inside. It was dark, but Selena closed the door behind them and searched for the light switch on the wall. A bright bulb flickered to life above them, and Selena soon realized they were in the closet, not the bathroom. She shouldn't have trusted Angela's judgement. Grasping the doorknob, Selena noticed that it wouldn't budge. She frantically jiggled it, but the door would not open.

"Damn!" she exclaimed, realizing they were locked in.

"Oh yeah. That door knob is screwy. It locks from the inside."

"You remember that but you can't remember where your freaking bathroom is?"

"Sorry. Good news though! I don't feel sick anymore!" Angela smiled brightly, happy that she probably wouldn't be throwing up that night.

"Yeah, really good news," Selena huffed. This wasn't exactly how she pictured her night. Stuck in a closet with a highly intoxicated farmer was definitely the perfect way to spend Halloween.

"Hey, sit down. Let's hang out!" Angela, who had already made herself comfortable on the floor, patted the ground next to her, signaling Selena to take a seat beside her.

Agitatedly running a hand through her dark red hair, Selena sat down. She figured they might be here for a while. They had to wait until someone came in the house and accidentally opened the door, also mistaking it for the bathroom. She was sure someone would come looking for them soon anyway.

"Did I ever tell you about the time that I was convinced that Luke was gay?" This caught Selena's attention. Even though it was a little hard to make out what Angela was saying, she still understood that!

"No. As a matter of fact you did not."

"I know what you're thinking. 'What? Luke? Gay? No way!'" It was funny to Selena how animated Angela became when telling stories. "I still don't know what made me think that, but I just had a feeling. Maybe it was because every guy I'd known at that point had such fragile masculinities, and they'd do anything to protect them. Luke was different though. He didn't care. That was new to me, so I thought, hey! Maybe he's gay!"

"Obviously he's not gay if he married me!" Selena giggled.

"Yeah! I thought that too when we were banging on that couch right in the living room." That stopped Selena's laugh. Did Selena hear what she thought she heard? Maybe the alcohol running through her blood was affecting her memories and thoughts. No, that couldn't be it. She wouldn't just make that up.

_Wait_ , Selena thought,  _when did this happen? He better not be cheating on me! I swear to God…_

Her thought was interrupted. "Of course, my parents were out at dinner with Dale or something. We weren't stupid enough to have sex in the living room if my parents could walk in!"

That answered the cheating question. This was obviously years ago, but it still made Selena's skin crawl. It was even weirder to hear this when she was dressed in Luke's clothes. Why had he never told her? Angela was practically a stranger to her. She was just some random girl who came to the island before her wedding who everyone seemed to know and love. Sure, they'd become friends since then, but there seemed to be so many unanswered questions and secrets.

Angela blabbered on about whatever came to her mind as Selena sulked with a stormy expression on her face. The only way she could get any information was if the mystery girl herself was hammered. Luke was her husband. He should be able to tell her these things!

In the middle of these thoughts, the door handle jiggled noticeably. Someone was finally going to rescue them.

"Hey! Someone's here!" Angela exclaimed with joy. The door finally opened and the waiter from the Brass Bar peaked his head in the closet, a little surprised to find the two girls sitting on the ground.

"Chase! You're my hero!" Angela jumped up clumsily and wrapped her arms around the violet eyed chef, giving him a rather sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Ew, get off of me. You reek of beer."

"Thanks!" She was a rather happy drunk.

"Thanks, Chase. We got locked in. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be heading home." Selena brushed herself off and took long strides towards the door. Her mind was foggy and she just wanted to be alone.

Stepping outside, she heard a very familiar voice making a very loud racket.

"Ladies and gentleman! Gather round as the super extreme Luke makes a super extreme jump from the roof of death! Will he survive? There's only one way to find out!" Luke, still clad in his tiny Angela costume, was standing on the top of the roof, ready to jump. He was a true daredevil, which Selena usually admired, but now was not one of those times. Her voice caught in her throat as she prepared to scream for him to stop, but it was too late. He was already hurdling off the roof, falling, approaching the ground at a high speed. Time seemed to pass by slowly, every second lasting forever. Selena watched, horrified, as her husband was hurled towards his demise.

Slam! He hit the ground landing on his butt, completely unharmed. The crowd around him cheered for the most part, while others (namely Gill) shook their heads in disapproval. Luke's mouth was stretched in a smile so gigantic, it hurt to even look at. If Selena wasn't already upset, and maybe not so hormonal, she may have laughed at her husband's antics, but that wasn't her situation.

Tears threatened to escape her eyes as she rushed up to Luke where he was still sitting on the soft grass.

"Hey, Selena! Did you see my super awesome stunt! It was so badass, right?"

"What were you thinking? Do you want to get yourself killed?" she yelled. Thankfully for her, people had averted their attention back to their conversations and paid her no mind.

"What? No! I was just…" At this point, he thought it best to just shut his mouth and take whatever Selena had to give him, but she was in no mood to yell. She considered slapping him, but decided that would be too harsh and he wouldn't understand why jumping off of a roof warranted a slap, although there was much more than that that made her want to slap him. Instead of yelling, slapping, or anything else, Selena just stormed off to her home in Garmon Mines, wishing that Luke wouldn't follow her.

Luke didn't follow. As he had already learned, she liked to be left alone in these situations.

* * *

"Oh God. Those stupid birds. Why won't they shut up?" Angela moaned, laying in bed in nothing but Luke's huge red t-shirt. Calvin was by her side, still fast asleep. Angela was more than a little hungover, but she had successfully managed to not throw up the past night. Just as she was mentally congratulating herself on her ability to hold in the puke, she felt bile rush up in her throat.

"Shit!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet and rushing to the bathroom. She made it to the toilet just in time for the nasty throw up to exit her body. She'd never thrown up the morning after, so this was a little strange, but she did drink a lot more than usual. A sudden pang of anxiety hit her. What if she was pregnant? Morning sickness definitely was something that pregnant women dealt with, but her fears went away as she felt the first pang of a cramp in her lower abdomen. Her period was coming within the day. She sighed a breath of relief. She couldn't let herself be in the situation that Selena was in. Besides, she and Calvin had been careful, always using protection when having sex.

"Angela?" Calvin was finally awake.

"Yeah?" Angela called back.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," she smiled a bit to herself, lucky that she had Calvin by her side. "I'm fine."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last note. My story so far has been light-hearted and fun for the most part, but things may get a little more intense and dark in the future chapters. It's not a permanent shift, but I have plans for this story, and those plans involve a bit of drama. Hopefully that's alright, so look forward to that. Thanks again for reading!


	12. Departure

Swinging his axe by his side and whistling a catchy tune, Luke made his way towards the Brass Bar to visit his wife. She had been distant ever since the Halloween party a few days back, and he thought that she was mad because of his little stunt. Sure, he didn't think it through and it could have ended worse than it did, but he was fine. Besides, she used to love his daredevil side.

He had been nothing but nice to her since then, and adopted a super cheery outlook on life. Of course, he usually was very optimistic, but now he made sure to let it show. Having Selena angry and mopey all the time made him sad, to say the least. He loved her, and he wanted her to be happy. He was just confused on how a drunken decision to jump off of a roof made her so upset.

He walked into the bar, the tinkling of the bell alerting everyone that there was a visitor. Selena no longer danced at the bar, but instead worked as an extra waitress. Plus, she also helped Hayden mix and pour drinks, since that was one of her many talents.

Selena noticed him almost immediately, and made her way over to him, taking her time.

"Hey, Selena!" he said, making sure to flash an extra cheerful smile, but Selena just stared blankly, making no effort to return the enthusiasm. Luke held out a small, brown paper bag.

"I made you lunch! I had some extra time and thought I'd give you a little something special to congratulate you for being a super amazing wife. And I know you've been craving salami lately, so I made sure to put tons of salami on your sandwich."

Selena knew his gesture was sweet, and she knew that she should thank him and be nice, but she was still in a terrible mood. She hadn't made any effort to talk to him about the actual problem, but she did feel a little bad that he didn't fully know why she was mad at him in the first place.

Before Selena could respond, Kathy noticed Luke's arrival, and walked towards the duo to greet him.

"Hey Lu-"

"You seriously think I want this? I work in a restaurant for God's sake. Why don't you go give it to Angela," Selena interrupted.

"Um, bye Luke." Kathy, who was completely uncomfortable from Selena's snarky comment, went back to work, making sure to put a lot of distance between her and the couple.

"Angela? What? Anyway, I just thought…"

"You thought? I didn't know you were smart enough to actually think!" Sarcasm was her favorite tactic in a fight. Luke looked around and scratched the back of his head, terribly embarrassed. Selena was being incredibly loud, and Chase, the guy who usually tried to stay out of other people's drama, looked up at the scene unfurling in front of him. It honestly was hard not to look.

"Selena," Luke muttered in a hushed voice, "can we please not do this. At least not here." The blue-haired carpenter was tired of the constant bickering and hurtful words, but now it was even worse. Fighting in front of the patrons of the bar was more than a little uncomfortable.

"Fine, whatever you want." She marched to the back of the bar and exited to the living quarters upstairs. Luke followed, avoiding eye contact with Kathy, Chase, or anyone else in the bar.

Closing the door to Selena's old room, Luke looked into her eyes. Her face was contorted in anger, but more than anything she just looked inconvenienced by his presence.

"What's the matter with you, Selena?"

"What's the matter with me? Oh, nothing's the matter. I'm just married to a liar."

"A..a liar?" Confusion was evident in his face.

"Wow, you don't even know what I'm talking about." Selena took a seat on her former bed, making the decision to tell Luke what she knew about his past that he "forgot" to tell her about.

"When were you planning on telling me that you and Angela used to be fuck-buddies?" Silence filled the room as Luke struggled to come up with an answer that wouldn't make upset Selena even more.

"I…we were…she was my girlfriend." He was a little offended at the term "fuck-buddies", but he knew that he shouldn't waste his time defending their title. Selena would just become angrier.

"Why didn't you tell me? You invited her to our wedding and I had never heard of her before. Did you just not find it important to tell me that you used to be in a relationship with her?"

"No. I mean, I just never had a chance to bring it up."

"We've been together for a year and a half now. There was no time between then and now that you could've told me who she was? Luke, Angela and I have become friends, but now I don't know what to think of either of you. She didn't tell me that you used to date either, and ever since she moved back here, I could feel some weird sexual tension between you two, and of course that doesn't make me happy."

Luke was at a loss for words. What he was most curious about at the moment, however, was how she found out, and how much she knew.

"Did you think you'd be able to keep it quiet for the rest of our lives? Luke, I find these things out. I know. I know everything." Of course, she didn't know exactly everything, but she had to make a statement. What went through Luke's mind when she said that, however, was not the simple statement that she knew about his past relationship with Angela, but that she also knew about the kiss that night on the beach several months ago.

That was when Luke made a fatal mistake.

"So, you know about the kiss. You should know that nothing happened after that." Luke sat down next to Selena on the bed and fidgeted with the strap on his leather gloves. He expected a snappy response from Selena, but nothing came. After a few suffocating seconds of silence, Luke lifted his head to lock eyes with his auburn-haired wife.

Before, Selena was angry, but now that anger was mixed with shock, confusion, and disappointment. What kiss was he talking about, and when did it happen? She grabbed Luke's arm and locked it in a death grip.

"What kiss?" she hissed threateningly. That was when Luke realized she knew a lot less than she had claimed. This was where he recognized his mistake. He knew that if he tried to explain, he'd only make things worse, but if he remained silent, Selena might squeeze his arm off with all the pressure she was using.

"Well," he took a deep, shaky breath. Selena could be terrifyingly intimidating. "Do you remember that night that we all went skinny dipping at the beach?" Selena's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Oh, right. You weren't there. Well, we all went to the beach while you stayed in the restaurant to close up shop, and after everyone left, it was just Angela and me sitting on the beach. We talked about the wedding and how nervous I was, and I don't know. We kissed. It didn't last long though. She stopped it before it went any farther. I was so impulsive, and you were right earlier. I'm not smart enough to actually think."

His last comment made Selena feel bad about how rude she was being, but her outrage over the kiss outweighed her guilt. Luke expected her to launch into another tirade of insults and screaming, but instead she clenched and unclenched her fists and let out a deep sigh.

"Fine. You can't change the past. Go home Luke. I really don't want to see you right now." Selena stood up abruptly and marched to the door.

"Wait!" Luke called. "What about our appointment with Jin later today?"

"You mean my appointment? Don't bother showing up." And with that, Selena slammed the door behind her, leaving Luke alone to wallow in his guilt and shame.

* * *

Selena stared at the blank white wall in front of her, waiting to see Dr. Jin. This town was so small that there usually was no wait to see him, especially if you made an appointment beforehand. Selena had cooled off a little since her encounter with Luke, but of course she was still furious. She just kept that fury on the inside for now.

Her attention shifted to the door to Jin's office. It had opened to reveal none other than Angela, the person she wanted to see the least at the moment, other than Luke. If she had been anywhere else, she might have shot Angela an icy glare, but the poor girl looked stark white. Her forehead was creased with worry and she looked like she was going to be sick. Selena wanted to feel angry at the girl, but all she felt was sympathy.

Angela stumbled out and noticed Selena staring at her with a look of genuine concern.

"Oh, Selena! Nice to see you," she forced out, adopting a rather pained smile. "I'm not feeling that great, if you can't tell. Just getting over some weird sickness. I'm alright though, so don't worry. Anyway, I'll see you around." Her smile faded and her face once again twisted into a fearful expression. The bell on the door tinkled, signifying her exit.

Selena shook off the weirdness of the situation and entered the room where Jin awaited her.

* * *

"Ah, Selena. Everything looks fine. And you seem like you're not using your pregnancy as an excuse to eat unhealthily, so that's very good. One last thing before you go, though. Would you like to find out the sex of the baby?"

Selena and Luke had been back and forth on whether or not they should know their baby's sex now, or wait to see. Selena had always wanted to find out as soon as possible, but being there without Luke by her side made it seem unfair for her to find out and to leave him in the dark.

"No, thank you. I'd like it to be a surprise for now." She smiled softly as she looked once again at the monitor that projected an image of her child. It looked like a jumbled mess of black and white, and she could barely make out the form of the baby. Just the thought that something was growing inside of her made her feel warm and content, quite the opposite of what she had been feeling in the last few days.

"Then that'll be all. I'll see you next time."

After cleaning up and getting dressed, Selena exited the clinic and made her way home. It was fairly late, almost 7:00, but she knew that Luke was probably in the forest hacking away at some tree. He tended to do that when they got in fights, which was pretty often lately. They both knew that it was best for them to give each other some space until they were ready to clear things up, but this time it was a little more serious than most fights.

The crisp autumn air felt nice on her skin and she felt at peace. Appointments with Jin always seemed to improve her mood. She still was in a cheery disposition later that night when there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, her smile turned into a frown as Angela stood in front of her. The small girl continually shifted her weight from one foot to the other and ran her hand through her hair absentmindedly. Just as she had looked earlier at the clinic, Angela was unusually pale.

"Sorry to bother you, Selena, but do you think I could come in for a second?"

Something strange was happening, so there was no way that Selena could send her away. She stepped aside without a word and motioned for Angela to come in.

"Would you like something to drink? I could make some tea if you'd like." Selena was surprised at herself for being so kind to the girl who her husband technically cheated on her with, but Angela looked so fragile and innocent, it was hard to be mean.

"Um, no thanks. I'll be okay." Angela looked down at her lap and played with her hands, a nervous habit. "Do you think we can just talk for a second?"

"Sure. Of course." Selena sat in a small armchair across from where Angela was sitting on her red colored couch. There was a brief silence while Selena awaited what Angela had to say.

"I guess I'll just be straight-forward. When you saw me at the clinic earlier today, I know I looked like death, but I wasn't exactly sick. I was just shocked, upset, terrified. What I'm saying is, I'm pregnant." Angela couldn't believe she had gotten into the same exact situation Selena had been in just months before. "I came to you because, well, you've been through this. Actually, you're currently going through this."

Selena realized then that she wasn't angry at her friend. She had feelings for Calvin, not Luke, and now she felt terrible about being mad at this poor girl in the first place. She was going through something terrible, something that Selena was all too familiar with.

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to marry him?"

"Marry him? Are you kidding? That's the last option I'm willing to go through with." It took Angela a second to realize just who she was talking to. She looked up and met Selena's eyes, which were narrowed in an intimidating glare.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean that marriage is always a bad choice, but it's just not the choice for me," she stuttered out, blushing from embarrassment.

"That's fine. I get it. But seriously, what are you going to do? This is a difficult choice, and every woman decides differently. You have a few options here. You can keep the baby, meaning that Calvin will be in your life for the rest of your life, unless he decides to bail, but I'll make sure that won't happen. Or you could put it up for adoption. I'm sure there's tons of couples willing to adopt. Well, maybe not here, but definitely in the city. Or you could get it aborted. I know that's a tough thing to do, and if you do that, we'd have to go to the city to get the procedure done."

All of the options sounded terrifying, but her heart swelled a little when Selena said 'we', like she was willing to drop everything and support her on her weird little journey.

"I just have one question," the tanned dancer started, "How did you guys let this happen? I thought you said you were always very careful with these types of things."

"We are, but no form of birth control is 100 percent effective I guess." Angela let out a soft sigh, realizing that she had to make a decision soon. All her options swirled around her head and she felt overwhelmed. Panic washed over her and she broke down, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Selena rushed over to the farmer, embracing her and stroking her hair.

"Hey, it'll be alright. You're one of the toughest people I know. You'll get through this." When Selena found out that she was going to be a mother, she didn't react like this. Of course, she was also terrified, but she held herself together much more successfully.

"I don't want to be a mother. I'm practically a kid myself," Angela muttered in distress. She rested her head on Selena's lap and held her hand for support. Whatever rage directed towards Angela that was still left in Selena had vanished.

"You are not a kid. You are a strong twenty year old woman." The two stayed in that position for a while. Angela cried quietly in Selena's lap while Selena played with her choppy, chocolate colored hair.

"Selena?" Angela finally spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes?"

"I think I want an abortion."

* * *

It was the following night, around 9 pm, and the boat was about to depart from the dock, headed towards the city. Angela slung a small black backpack around her shoulders that contained the small amount of clothes and toiletries she'd need on her short journey. If everything could go her way, she'd be there and back in a matter of hours, no one noticing her disappearance, but that was obviously not the case. Her trip had to be a minimum of two days, since boats did not travel to Castanet frequently. It was lucky that it would even be sailing back two days after they would arrive.

Her hair whipped around her face in the salty breeze as she waited on the dock for Selena. If she had to go through this alone, she might not have survived, so she was lucky to have a friend like Selena to support her decision and help her along the way.

Fast footsteps approached her from behind, so she turned to greet who she expected to be Selena, but instead it was Luke.

"Angela! Have you seen Selena? I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon and I'm just so worried about her. We got in this huge fight and she's been avoiding me ever since. I just checked the bar, but she wasn't…wait," he said, noticing her backpack, the boat behind her, and the two boat tickets in her hand. "Are you leaving Castanet?"

"Well, I…yes. I'm leaving for a couple of days."

"Why?" Luke tilted his head and the corners of his mouth tugged down into a frown. In Angela's opinion, he looked like a sad puppy.

"Luke?" Selena asked cautiously, walking up to the dock.

"Selena!" Luke rushed forward and threw his arms around his pregnant wife, holding her close to him, but she didn't exhibit the same amount of love and happiness.

"I've been so worried about you! I haven't seen you in over a day!"

"Yeah, well. I've been around." Selena broke the embrace almost immediately and crossed her arms over her chest. Angela was confused at her icy behavior, but decided to ask her about it later.

"Why are you here? And Angela, really. Why are you leaving?" The innocent, curious look on his face made him seem even more like a puppy to Angela.

"I'm going too actually, and it's none of your business."

"No, let's tell him. Someone deserves to know why we're just vanishing off the island." Angela took Selena's eye roll to be a sign of approval.

"Well, Luke. Yesterday, I found out that I'm pregnant,"

"Pregnant? You too?" He interrupted, unable to contain himself.

"Yes, me too." She would have giggled if the topic hadn't been so serious. "Selena and I are headed to the city to get an abortion, and I'd be really appreciative if you didn't tell anyone just yet."

"Oh my god, Angela. This is huge. It's bigger than huge! Does that mean that Calvin doesn't know?" He didn't, and Angela knew it was wrong not to tell him, but she didn't want to make things more complicated. All she wanted to do was go to the city, get the procedure done, and come back. She knew this was going to put her relationship at stake, but she also knew that she couldn't have this baby, let alone raise it with a man she had been dating for only a few months.

"He doesn't know, and I will tell him, don't worry. Just not now."

"C'mon ladies. We've gotta start heading towards the city. It's time to hop aboard." Pascal, the kindly old captain called from his vessel.

"We have to go, but we'll be in touch. I'll call you when we get there. And remember! Do not tell anyone what's happening. I love you." Angela wrapped her arms around Luke's waist and hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go. The scene in front of her gave Selena mixed emotions, but she ignored them and hurried off, Angela in tow. Luke was left on the dock, watching, as his wife and best friend departed on one of the biggest journeys of their lives.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations on reading what I think is one of my worst chapters. I looked over it again and again and I just think it's poorly written, but whatever. So a couple of things, abortion. It's a touchy issue, and I'm sure that not all of you will agree that it's the best option, but this has been planned ever since I started writing back in February, and it's essential to the story. Also, I've been told that the last line is inaccurate since it's not really one of the biggest journeys of Selena's life, but don't worry, it will be. So I just want to thank all those who read this, review, favorite, etc. and I hope you enjoy chapter 12! :)


	13. City Living: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly a flashback focusing on Selena's backstory. It's pretty important. Also, I constantly refer to "the city." Back in the first or second chapter I very briefly mentioned that Angela moved to New York City, but I changed it from New York to just a vague city in the Harvest Moon world. That's all! Enjoy.

Angela struggled to keep her eyes open as her head was resting comfortably in Selena's lap, the island beauty playing with her hair. The fresh, salty wind and gentle rhythm of the boat pushed the small girl even closer to sleep.

Her body was exhausted, and she was so close to achieving the rest she needed, but her mind raced. One topic seemed to stick in her head, and no matter how hard she tried to think of different things, it always called attention back to itself. How could she not think about her pregnancy? It was definitely not something to be taken lightly, anyone could tell her that. Especially Selena.

Selena! Finally something new entered her mind. It was Selena's birthday the next day, so she might as well wish her a happy early birthday now that she was thinking of it.

"Hey, Selena," Angela mumbled, her voice thick with exhaustion. "Happy twenty first birthday. Well, in a few hours, I guess."

Selena's red lips lifted in a smile. "Thank you, Angela."

"Happy sixteenth birthday Selly!" Sue's energy and positive attitude was contagious, and even Selena, the incredibly moody teenage girl, was infected.

"Don't call me that. You know I hate it!" she complained, but she was unable to wipe the smile off her face.

"How's my little princess on her sweet sixteen?" Samson asked, setting down a plate of her favorite breakfast: eggs and rice with a side of fresh mango.

"That nickname is even worse than Selly." She rolled her eyes dramatically. In fact, everything she did was dramatic. "As you both know, I'm sixteen today, meaning I'm practically an adult, making the names 'princess' and 'Selly' unacceptable."

"You think being sixteen makes you an adult? You're still just a child. Now eat your breakfast so we can give you your presents!"

In her opinion, her parents treated her like she was still a toddler, completely dependent on them with no possibility of living on her own. This annoyed her to no end, but she thought that this was the year that they'd finally allow her to visit the city, or Castanet at the very least. She was a very sheltered child, and had only left her native Toucan Island a few times in her whole life, and even then she was kept under constant surveillance by at least one parent at all times. She was tired of it.

All year long she had incessantly nagged her parents to let her visit the city. Her dream was to become a famous dancer. Her name would be displayed in neon lights in front of wherever she was performing that night, and every show would be sold out, of course. But to achieve this dream of hers, she needed some proper training and experience.

Her mother had danced when she was younger, although she never took it nearly as seriously as her daughter did, so when Selena expressed an interest in the art form early on, her mother took the liberty of teaching her. With her mother as a teacher, Selena learned all the basics of dancing, but she always craved to learn more. She especially wanted to learn more about different forms of dance, like classic ballet. On one of the very few trips to the city that she had taken, at around the age of 6, Selena purchased a book detailing the lives and careers of the most famous ballerinas that had graced the stage at Royal Theatre, the most well-known theatre in the area. She read it religiously, and knew that someday, she would take ballet lessons and try her luck at being a ballerina.

The only dancing experience that Selena had was what her mother had taught her. She didn't have an exact term to describe it, but many described the dance form as "bellydancing." In other words, the dancing that she usually did focused more on the movement of her torso and hips than her limbs, but she wanted to learn even more.

Her parents were torn. They wanted to support Selena with her dreams, but they were afraid of how she would fare in the city with no experience. They decided that she should wait until she was at least 18 to go to the city to pursue her career, and Sue would accompany her. But Selena was impatient. At 16, she felt she was mature enough to handle herself. She had always been a very independent person, even if her parents had treated her as the opposite. Two more years stuck on the island practicing the same dance moves over and over again until they were permanently drilled into her brain did not sound appealing in the least. What sounded even less appealing was that when she was finally able to move to the city, her mother would have to live with her.

She knew that expecting a birthday gift of a long trip to the city was a waste, but all she could hold on to was hope.

"Your father and I took a special trip to Castanet to get this present for you. We spent a lot of time thinking about what would be perfect for our girl's sweet sixteen, and we thought that you would love this." Sue set down a perfectly wrapped gift in front of Selena, the shiny silver ribbon mimicking a mirror as Selena's expectant face was reflected in it.

Taking a deep breath, Selena unwrapped the gift. A boat ticket was all she wanted, and all that she had wanted for a long time, and she had a feeling that maybe her parents had finally caved. Just maybe.

Her eyes settled on a beautiful shiny pearl necklace.

"Do you like it? It's okay if you don't, I won't be offended." Sue stared at her daughter, trying to read her face. It was hard to tell what she was feeling, as her face seemed completely void of emotion.

"Your mother and I found the pearls ourselves, right here on Toucan Island. We had to have it made professionally on Castanet, though. We're not that skilled!" Her father added with a hearty laugh.

"I…love it!" Selena was immensely disappointed in her gift, but she shouldn't have let her hopes get so high. The necklace was very nice, and she wasn't lying when she said she loved it, but compared to a boat ticket, this gift was nothing to her. Faking a smile, which she found herself to be quite good at, she let her mother put the necklace around her neck, then gave each parent a warm hug and a "thank you".

That night, Selena lay in bed reprimanding herself for even thinking that her parents would let her leave Toucan Island. She was mad at them, but she was mostly mad at herself. Of course they would never buy her a boat ticket. What was she thinking?

But she didn't feel like giving up. She knew what she had to do.

Pascal, the kind old captain, ran a ferry to and from Castanet roughly once a week, and if everything was according to plan, the ferry would arrive at Toucan Island to drop off any passengers and bring back any exports the next morning. The boat would leave shortly after, making its way back before most people were even awake. Selena knew that if she wanted to make her dream happen anytime soon, she would have to make a risky decision.

After debating with herself whether or not this was the right thing to do, the sixteen year old girl decided that she needed to go through with it. She packed a medium sized suitcase with all the essentials, but she needed money if she expected to survive by herself. She didn't want to take any credit cards because those could easily be tracked or canceled by her parents, so she snuck into the cash register at the front counter and took all the cash that was inside. It was a good amount that would last her for an acceptable amount of time, but she'd have to get a job eventually if she planned on staying any longer than about a month.

How long did she really want to stay there? A month sounded like a long time to be away from home, but in the grand scheme of things, a month isn't a lot of time to have when working towards becoming a famous dancer. She decided not to think too much about how long she would stay in the city, and chose to just go with the flow.

Her parents would be worried, and she felt guilty leaving them alone, not knowing exactly where their daughter was or what she was doing, but it was her time. She couldn't allow them to keep her cooped up on the island for her entire life. They always said they'd let her visit with her mother when she was eighteen, but knowing them, they'd back out on that and decide they would go when she was twenty, and then twenty-one, then twenty-two, and so on. Her desire to run away was fueled not only by her passion to dance, but also her need to be independent.

She hid her suitcase near the dock so she could make a quick and easy escape. The money was tucked into a wallet, which was safely stowed in her purse. She was ready to leave.

Before the sun had even risen, Pascal pulled up to the dock, unloading some boxes that were to be delivered. Two sleepy passengers disembarked, obviously annoyed that one of the only boat rides to the island was so early in the morning. Selena watched them head towards the Inn, where they would be disappointed to learn that it wouldn't open for another hour.

Making sure that Pascal's attention was diverted, Selena quickly threw her luggage into the boat and hopped on herself. It wasn't a large vessel, but there was certainly enough room where she could easily hide herself for the ride, and a few hours later, when the boat did take off, Selena smiled. There were no tears shed.

The blare of the boat's horn awoke Selena from her dreamless sleep. It had only been three hours since she had initially boarded, and she guessed that her parents wouldn't notice that she was gone for another few hours. Like most teenagers, she slept in to abnormally late times, so it was not uncommon for her to wake up around eleven or twelve o' clock. Checking her watch, she noticed it was only nine.

Pascal was busy dealing with boarding passengers, so she slipped out onto the dock, drawing absolutely no attention to herself.

Now was time to put her plan into action. First she'd stop by a small, modest hotel. She was on a budget, so she couldn't spend the money she had on luxuries, but that was fine with her. Each step she took meant that she was closer to living her dream. Just the thought of that caused her heart to speed up until it seemed like it would burst.

Anyone who took a look at her could tell she was brimming with joy. Her cheeks were rosy and stretched in a wide grin. Her violet eyes sparkled, and the way she walked emanated confidence.

This confidence and excitement worried the old, grumpy lady at the front desk of the hotel. Well, it was more of a motel to be exact. To be called a hotel was a stretch. As soon as Selena walked in, the wrinkled lady with pink fluffy hair like a pile of cotton candy scowled.

If it were any other day, just the sight of the weathered down lady with the droopy frown would put Selena in a bad mood immediately, but obviously nothing could bring her down today.

"I'd like a room please!" she said joyfully, her voice seeming higher-pitched than usual due to how excited she was.

"That'll be forty dollars a night. How old are you, kid?" Her voice was deep and raspy from what one could only assume was a lifetime of smoking.

"I'm eighteen years old," Selena said, hoping the woman couldn't detect the hesitation in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are," she said, not convinced in the least, but she was tired and didn't feel like dealing with the situation, so she let it slide. "How many nights you staying, honey?"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure, but I'll just pay for a week for now, is that alright?"

"Sure thing." They exchanged money, and Selena couldn't help but notice the woman's hot pink nails and fingers covered in cheap rings. It was funny to her. Everything already was so different than home.

The woman, who Selena had noticed was named Delores from her name tag, stooped down to retrieve the key to her room, her fluffy hair brushing the desk on the way down. With her key in one hand and her bag in the other, Selena was ready to drop her stuff off and start exploring the city, but Delores had something to say before she left.

"Now listen here. I can just tell by your confident little demeanor that you're here to live the dream. I see people your age come here all the time to do just what you're doing. Some are singers, others painters, I even see some dancers pass through here sometimes," she said, making Selena's heart pound. "and I don't really know what you do, but I will tell you, this ain't gonna be what you imagined. It's gonna get rough. If you can't handle that, then I'd turn back now and go back to mommy and daddy, or to wherever you came from."

Delores, to say the least, was terrifying, and Selena just needed to get out of there. She knew she shouldn't take what Delores said to heart, but what if that weird old lady was right? No, she couldn't afford to think that way. She needed to at least try to achieve her goals.

Without a word in reply, Selena walked off to her room, leaving Delores to roll her eyes and crack open another hollywood gossip magazine.

"Welcome to Introduction to Ballet! I'm sure that this will be an enjoyable experience for you ladies. Let's start with the basics!" A tall, slender woman began showing the class first position, second position, and so on. She wore her dirty blonde hair in a tight bun, and had very sharp facial features that gave her a very intimidating look, but in reality, she was as sweet as could be.

Selena had signed up the day she had arrived for ballet classes at the nearest (and cheapest) dance studio. The woman standing in front of her, teaching her positions that she already knew from books that she had read, was Ms. Caroline Fay, the owner of "Caroline Fay's Academy of Dance."

It had been two days since Selena had arrived in the city, and she knew that her parents were probably searching frantically all over Toucan Island for her. At this point, she guessed that they had traveled to Castanet to search for her. She had a small flip phone in case of emergencies, but she purposefully left that at home so they couldn't track her in any way. She didn't know much about the technology of cell phones, so she didn't exactly know if they could track her from it, but it was better safe than sorry.

She planned on calling them from a pay phone later in the day to let them know that she at least still alive. She felt terrible for leaving them in the dark about where she was going, but if she had told them, or given them any hint as to what she was going to do, she knew that this would never happen and that she'd be stuck on Toucan Island for the rest of her life.

Ms. Caroline Fay now moved on to slightly more complicated positions and terms, and Selena followed every step with ease. It was obvious, even within the first few minutes of the class, that she was one of the more talented students, and everyone noticed, especially Ms. Fay.

After the two hour introduction class, as Selena was putting on a jacket and sweatpants over her leotard and thread-bare tights, Ms. Fay made her way to her new student, dying to meet the gifted girl.

"Hello, um…" she started, waiting for Selena to introduce herself.

"Oh! I'm Selena," she said politely.

"Selena! Nice to meet you," her warm smile softened her usually intimidating face. "I couldn't help but notice how talented you are! You're a natural at dancing, and I wonder if maybe you should be placed in a higher level class. Have you taken ballet before?"

Selena's cheeks filled with color at the compliment. So far, her trip couldn't have been better. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She could be staying at a much nicer hotel. It wasn't exactly pleasant to be awoken to the scurrying sounds of roaches in the morning.

"I haven't. I came to the city so I could learn ballet, actually. But I've been dancing all my life, just not ballet."

"Oh? What type of dance do you normally do?"

"Well, my mom taught me everything I know up until this point, and I always learned the dance that was native to my island. Some say it's similar to bellydancing, except I think it's a little more than that." Thinking about her mother and her home made her feel emotional all of a sudden, but she held it back. She also realized that she shouldn't be so open about her life, just in case anything happened that would result in her parents finding her and sending her back. She had to be careful.

"That sounds wonderful!" Ms. Fay said, genuinely delighted. "Would you mind showing me what you could do? And maybe I'll put you in the next level of ballet!" By this point, everyone else in the class had filed out, being picked up by their parents, or taking public transportation back home. It was just Selena and Caroline in the large mirrored room.

"Of course," Selena agreed, and she began. Dancing was second nature to her, and she completed each move with no problem. Her body flowed from one position to the next, and Caroline Fay's eyes lit up with wonder. She knew from that day that her student, Selena, would be going places.

After that enchanting day at the dance studio, Selena was bumped up to Intermediate Ballet. She definitely had the skill for it, and she knew it. Life was going great, but it was time to make a phone call to her parents.

It was fairly late, but the sun hadn't set quite yet. Selena stood in front of the large, black payphone and popped in a quarter to make her call. The phone only rang once before her mother answered frantically.

"Hello? Who is it?" She asked, obviously hoping it was someone with information regarding her daughter's whereabouts, if not her daughter herself. That night was the night that they finally contacted the police, and Selena was declared missing. There was no police force on Toucan Island or Castanet, but the city police were on the case.

"Mom, it's me," Selena replied, swallowing back tears. She didn't expect to be so upset. Of course she missed her parents, but this was what was best for her. At least, that's what she thought.

"Selena! Oh my god, honey! Where are you? Your father and I are worried sick!" Sue sobbed into the phone. "Samson! Come here! Selena is on the phone!" She heard some shuffling on the other line as Samson took the phone out of Sue's hands.

"Selena! Princess! Are you okay?" His usually gruff voice was now tender and vulnerable. Just the sound of it made the tears that Selena was holding back break through and roll down her face.

"I'm fine Dad, I'm fine."

Selena sat on her creaky bed that night with questionably clean sheets and sobbed. This was such a major moment in her life, and she was putting her parents though a living hell. Maybe this was all a mistake and she should just pack up and go home, but at the same time, she felt like that was giving up too early. On the phone, her parents cried a lot and begged her to come home, or at least tell them where she was. They guessed that she was in the city, because where else would she have gone. Even they knew that her dream was to become a dancer and dance at Royal Theatre. She wouldn't give them any information other than the fact that she was okay, and that she would stay okay. This comforted them, but only a little.

Crying seemed like the best way to let everything out. Usually, Selena tried to keep up a tough exterior, and rarely cried, but there was no way she was going to keep it all in now. Even if she tried, she wouldn't have succeeded.

That night, her birthday night, she lay in bed and debated whether or not she should go through with this. It was hard to say if this idea was a good one, and in the end, even though she did decide to take action, she still didn't know if it was a good idea. Only time would tell, she guessed.


End file.
